NASA’s Artemis Program

Hello everyone!

How you all are doing well.
In this article, we are going to talk about the Artemis Program of NASA. We will cover all the aspects of this program. So if you are interested in knowing all the details about this program, read this article till the end.

Why in News?

Recently, NASA has announced its plans to land the first person of colour on the moon under the Artemis Program. In addition, NASA will also land the first woman on the moon under the program. Under the Artemis Program, NASA aims to send the next man and first woman to the lunar surface by 2024. Nasa has finalised around 18 astronauts who will staff the human spaceflight mission. The group includes nine women and several people of colour, but it is not yet known. 

Now let’s understand this program in detail.

About Artemis Program

• The Artemis program is a U.S. government-funded international human spaceflight program. 
• ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun.
• The mission is named after the Greek goddess of the Moon and the twin sister of the god Apollo.
• The main objective of the program is to launch a manned mission to the south pole region of the moon by 2024.
• The program is predominantly carried out by NASA. The other international partners in the program are:

1. European Space Agency (ESA)
2. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
3. Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
4. Italian Space Agency (ASI)
5. Australian Space Agency (ASA)
6. UK Space Agency (UKSA)
7. United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA)
8. State Space Agency of Ukraine
9. Brazilian Space Agency (AEB)

• NASA is using the Space Launch System rocket (SLS) and Orion spacecraft for this program. 

Parts of the Artemis Program

The Artemis program is divided into three parts :

• Artemis I: Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 is the first integrated flight test of Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft. It is most likely to be launched in 2021. The primary goal of the mission is to assure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery.

Artemis I mission map (Credits: NASA)

• Artemis II: Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test and is targeted for 2023. It will pave the way to land the first woman and next man on the Moon on Artemis III. 

Artemis II mission map (Credits: NASA)

• Artemis III: Artemis III will land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole in 2024. It will establish a permanent human presence there within the next decade to uncover new scientific discoveries. The agency will use this mission to prepare for sending astronauts to Mars. It will also lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.

Artemis III mission map (Credits: NASA)

NASA’s motives behind the Artemis Program

• Demonstrate new technologies, capabilities, and business approaches needed for future exploration including Mars.
• Establish American leadership and a strategic presence on the Moon while expanding our U.S. global economic impact.
• Broaden our commercial and international partnerships.
• Inspire a new generation and encourage careers in STEM.

Objectives of the Artemis Program

• The outcomes from Artemis will be used as a base for the agency’s next ambitious project of sending astronauts to Mars.
• Investigate the Moon’s mysteries and learn more about our home planet and the universe.
• Learn how to live and operate on the surface of another celestial body where astronauts are just three days from home.
• Find and use water and other critical resources needed for long-term exploration.

Supporting Systems Developed for Artemis Program

NASA has developed various supporting systems for the Artemis Program.

• Exploration Ground Systems (required structures on the ground  to support the launch)
• The Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion (the spacecraft for lunar missions). NASA’s new rocket called SLS will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft.
• Gateway (Lunar outpost around the Moon)
• Lunar landers (Modern human landing systems)
• Once the astronauts dock Orion at the Gateway, they will be able to live and work around the Moon. From the spaceship, they will take expeditions to the surface of the Moon.
• Spacesuits designed for astronauts going for the Artemis program are called Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU.

NASA’s other missions to the Moon

• The US began trying to put people in space as early as 1961. Eight years later (1969), Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
• After Apollo 11, NASA sent six more missions between 1969 and 1972.
• Of these, five succeeded (Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) at landing humans on the lunar surface.
• The six missions that were able to land on the Moon returned with a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples.
•  Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.
• The missions landed 12 astronauts on the Moon’s surface, all of whom were men.

Moon Exploration Missions

• In 1959, the Soviet Union’s uncrewed Luna 1 and 2 became the first rover to visit the Moon.
• After July 1969, 12 American astronauts walked on the surface of the Moon until 1972.
• In the 1990s, the USA resumed lunar exploration with robotic missions Clementine and Lunar Prospector.
• In 2009, it launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS).
• In 2011, NASA began the ARTEMIS mission.
• In 2012, the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft studied the Moon’s gravity.
• Apart from the USA, the European Space Agency, Japan, China, and India have sent missions to explore the Moon. 
• China landed two rovers on the surface, which includes the first-ever landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently announced India’s third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, which will comprise a lander and a rover.

With this, we come to the end of this article. In this article, we have covered all the major points about NASA’s Artemis Program. Hope you have gained some wonderful insights from this article. For more such informative articles, stay tuned.

Thank you