NASA’s Artemis II mission sets the stage for humans to return to the moon
USA TODAY’s Eric Lagatta explains the significance of NASA’s Artemis II, the first manned moon mission in more than 50 years.
After two long delays, NASA made history on April 1, launching a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day expedition around the moon and back.
The Artemis II mission, the second in NASA’s multibillion-dollar lunar program, is a major milestone for the agency, marking the first human deep space flight in more than 50 years. NASA said Artemis II’s crew is expected to travel “further from Earth than any previous human mission.”
USA TODAY previously reported that the expedition will send its crew about 42,000 miles into space, potentially breaking the record set by the 1970 Apollo 13 mission at a distance of about 248,000 miles from Earth.
“This milestone will occur during the lunar flyby phase, during which the crew will fly in a free orbit around the Moon, allowing the spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return to Earth without entering orbit around the Moon,” NASA said.
NASA said that although the crew will not land on the moon’s surface, the lunar flyby mission is intended to test life support systems and critical operations, paving the way for future moon landings and Mars exploration. The mission is expected to last about 10 days, with the crew arriving near the moon around the fifth or sixth day before returning to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Here is the timeline of Artemis II’s journey:
launch date
Four astronauts, including the first black man, first woman and first Canadian, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, one of the largest and most powerful rockets NASA has ever flown.
After liftoff, the Orion crew capsule separates from the rocket’s upper stage and enters a highly elliptical orbit around Earth.
earth orbit
During the first day or two of the mission, the crew will perform system checks in high Earth orbit, including tests of the Orion capsule’s life support, propulsion, navigation, and communications systems to ensure the spacecraft is ready for flight into deep space.
menstrual ejaculation
After completing system checks, Orion will conduct a “lunar surface burn” on its second day, according to Scientific American. The menstrual ejection involves the ignition of Orion’s main engine, which increases the spacecraft’s speed and propels it out of Earth’s orbit and toward the Moon.
During the third and fourth days, the crew will continue to monitor spacecraft systems as they approach the moon. The mission controller tracks communications and navigation performance.
moon flight
On the fifth day, Orion enters the moon’s sphere of influence, “marking the point at which the moon’s gravity becomes stronger than Earth’s,” according to NASA.
“The crew will spend an entire day entering the lunar vicinity, with almost all of the morning devoted to spacesuit testing,” the agency said. “As the first astronauts to wear the new suit in space, the Artemis II crew will test its ability to quickly don and pressurize the suit, attach a seat and board while wearing the suit, eat and drink through a port in the suit’s helmet, and other features.”
NASA said the crew will be closest to the moon on day six, and the furthest from Earth during this phase.
Return to Earth and splashdown
After the lunar flight, the crew will return to Earth over several days to continue deep space testing, including evaluating power systems, thermal controls, and crew operations far beyond low-Earth orbit.
As Orion approaches Earth, it separates its major components before entering the atmosphere at a speed of about 25,000 miles per hour. One of the mission’s main objectives is to test the capsule’s heat shield, which was partially cracked and scorched during the 2022 Artemis I mission, during atmospheric reentry, reported Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, where a recovery team will retrieve the crew.
Contributor: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY. Reuters
