Project Artemis

“We are going to the moon to stay”. The smile I had on my face the day I heard this was irreplaceable. It was also the day I realised that the next giant leap for mankind (if all goes well) will take place in my lifetime!! NASA announced the ARTEMIS program in 2019 with objectives such as landing the first women on the moon, establishing a sustainable presence on the moon, extraction of lunar minerals, research , and laying the foundations for future expeditions to Mars. Other agencies like the European Space Agency and American commercial space agencies like SpaceEx will also play a part in this program.

So, what is Artemis?

The name Artemis refers to the Greek Goddess of the moon and the twin sister of Apollo . It was the Apollo missions that landed the first humans on the moon. The Artemis missions are planned as the stepping stones for our next giant leap, the exploration of Mars.

ARTEMIS I :

This mission consists of launching the Orion spacecraft on top of the Space Launch System(SLS) rocket, the most powerful rocket in the world in an unmanned flight to the moon and back. This is a test flight to understand the capabilities of the SLS and Orion spacecraft before conducting manned missions. The SLS will use the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) to send Orion into lunar orbit. Orion will remain in lunar orbit for about 6 days after which it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere using the help of heat shields and parachutes. Artemis I is supposed to launch in June 2022.

ARTEMIS II :

Artemis 3 will be the first crewed landing on the moon after the Apollo 17 mission (1972). It will also be the first time a woman sets foot on the moon.Two out of four crew members will land on the south pole of the moon using the Human Landing System(HLS) designed by SpaceEx while the other two will be orbiting the moon in a space base similar to the ISS called the GATEWAY. The two astronauts will spend about a week on the moon before they travel back to Orion using the HLS and later using Orion, the four astronauts will re-enter Earth.

WHY DID IT TAKE THIS LONG?

It's been nearly 50 years since we last walked on the moon. The Apollo program consisted of 6 crewed flights to the moon including the Apollo 11 mission whose mission commander Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon. A total of 12 astronauts have walked on the moon as of now. The Apollo missions were cancelled due to various economic and political reasons and the focus was shifted towards programs like NASA’s Skylab and Space shuttle.

WHAT IS NEXT?

After Artemis 3, NASA and its partners will focus on building a well-established lunar base and on development of new technologies for further exploration. The Artemis base camp will enable a sustained presence on the moon and one which can be revisited and built upon. Focus will also be on mining minerals from the lunar regolith which will reduce the dependence on supplies from Earth. Knowledge and expertise on establishing a base on the moon will give us the much-needed advantage on future missions to Mars. In short, our journey of becoming an interplanetary species starts with the moon.