Originally named EM-1, Artemis 1 will now be the first flight test project of the new space rocket launch system SLS of the US space agency – NASA.
Artemis 1 rocket block is 98 meters high, including NASA’s giant space rocket launch system and Orion spacecraft. The system began its first rehearsal at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis 1 is currently scheduled to launch in late May 2022, from Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center.
Astronaut Jessica Watkins, who is expected to participate in the Artemis mission.
The SLS rocket will launch the unmanned Orion spacecraft into space on a mission that will last about 26 days, during which it will spend the last six days orbiting the Moon before returning to Earth.
During an initial 21-day period, Orion will deploy 10 CubeSat shoebox-sized satellites to gather information about the deep space environment. The “passengers” on board will be three radiation data collection dummies and a toy Snoopy, NASA’s mascot.
Orion will orbit the far side of the Moon, using propulsion made by experts from the European Space Agency, before returning to Earth to test the heat shield as it enters the atmosphere. The ship is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.
The three-day countdown and refueling test for Artemis 1 is underway, NASA reports, with engineers testing the process of powering the core stage of the air-launched rocket system. time. After that, the Orion spacecraft was fully refueled, making final preparations before the actual launch.
Artemis System 1 at Kennedy Space Center.
The test was the culmination of months of assembly and testing for the SLS and Orion, as well as preparations by the launch control and engineering teams, which set the stage for the first Artemis launch.
After Artemis-1 will be the manned Artemis-2 mission, which flew around the Moon but did not land. The Artemis-3 mission is scheduled for 2025, carrying female astronaut Jessica Watkins, also the first black person to set foot on the Moon.
According to NASA, the cost of the Artemis project is very high, up to $ 4.1 billion for the first 4 Artemis missions. In the future, NASA is planning to have a permanent presence on the Moon, using this place to research and test the necessary technologies for the Mars exploration mission in the 2030s.