What will happen?
For the first time in more than half a century, the American space agency NASA will send a manned space probe to the moon. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are on the trip.
Fact box: The crew of the Artemis II
● Reid Wiseman, NASA, Commander Capt.
● Victor Glover, NASA, pilot. The first non-white astronaut on a lunar mission.
● Christina Koch, NASA. The first woman on a moonwalk.
● Jeremy Hansen, CSA, Canadian Space Agency.
When should the examination be postponed?
There are several possible times. The first is already this weekend, but on Tuesday NASA announced that the launch would not take place until March. They tested the rocket for two days and discovered a hydrogen leak during refueling and problems with a valve in the Orion spacecraft, where the astronauts will live and work during the spaceflight. “The safety of the crew is our top priority,” writes the Swedish Space Agency.
The four crew members are now allowed to leave quarantine in Houston, where they have been since January 21st. They will be quarantined again about two weeks before the next possible postponement, on March 7th. How late it will finally be depends, among other things, on the weather.
Facts:Possible times for postponement (Swedish time)
● March 7 at 2:29 am
● March 8 at 2:47 am
● March 9 at 3:56 am
● March 10 at 4:52 am
● March 11th at 5:48 am
● April 2nd at 12:24 am
● April 4th at 2:00 am
● April 5th at 2:53 am
● April 6th at 3:40 a.m
● April 7 at 4:36 am
● May 1st at 12:06 am
Source: NASA
Why is the trip taking place?
This is the second planned space flight in NASA’s Artemis program. The first, Artemis I, left Earth in November 2022. The capsule orbited the moon and landed in the Pacific Ocean after nearly four weeks in space. Artemis I was unmanned, but had three life-size mannequins on board, with measuring devices to see how people would cope with the journey, such as the radiation they were exposed to.
The purpose of Artemis I was to show that the Orion space capsule and the SLS launch vehicle, the Space Launch System, worked and that it was possible to orbit the Moon and then return to Earth.
What is the purpose of NASA’s Artemis program?
The goal of the Artemis program is to return astronauts to the moon. Apollo 17 left the moon in December 1972 and no humans have been there since.
The astronauts on Artemis II will orbit the moon without landing.
The next spaceflight, Artemis III, scheduled for 2027 or 2028, will again land astronauts on the moon, probably near the South Pole.
In Greek mythology, Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and the moon and the twin sister of Apollo, who gave the Apollo program its name. Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program managed to land a total of six manned space capsules on the moon.
Why does NASA want to return to the moon?
The Apollo program was canceled because it became too expensive to send astronauts to the moon. In the half century since, we have gained both better technology and more knowledge about space and the solar system. For example, we now know that there is ice at the poles of the moon. By revisiting the Moon, we can learn more and also investigate how it would be possible for humans to travel to and live on another celestial body.
The Artemis program is a first step towards building a space station on the moon and ultimately being able to send astronauts further into space, for example to Mars. Another stated purpose is to inspire people on Earth, just as the Apollo program did. “We are returning to the Moon to make scientific discoveries, generate economic benefits and provide inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis generation,” writes NASA itself.
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