The Artemis Mission: Everything You Need to Know

Artemis, in ancient Greek religion, is the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity and childbirth; and the twin sister of Apollo the Sun God. To us modern people however, the Artemis mission is humanity’s second attempt at a moon launch that could pave the way for deep space exploration.

NASA is undertaking a revolutionary, multi-stage, multi-year moon mission dubbed the Artemis project. What is the goal of the project? What does it entail and what is the timeline?

What are the goals of the Artemis Mission?

The main objectives of Artemis are to facilitate scientific discovery, create new economic possibilities, and motivate the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and other fields.

NASA wants to explore the moon once more in order to locate water and other resources for long-term space travel. The agency anticipates learning more about the moon, Earth, and universe along the route. In the end, NASA and its partners will have the expertise and operational confidence needed to reach Mars after establishing a foothold on the moon.

The main goals of Artemis are to inspire the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and other sectors, facilitate scientific discovery, and create new economic opportunities.

In order to find water and other resources for long-term space travel, NASA plans to study the moon once more. Along the way, the organization hopes to discover more about the moon, Earth, and universe. After gaining a foothold on the moon, NASA and its partners will have the knowledge and operational confidence necessary to reach Mars.

The space industry is currently worth around $400 billion “and on the way to $1 trillion, and I suspect it’ll get there faster than we think,” said James Reuter, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA.

There is little doubt that space exploration motivates young people to pursue science education in terms of encouraging the future generation. This objective also explains NASA’s dedication to sending the first black and female astronauts to the moon.

“Our job at NASA is to do the things that are difficult, and to do the things that are right, and to motivate our base, which is our youth,” Reid Wiseman, NASA’s chief astronaut, said. “And right now, our country is a diverse and extremely rich country… We want every kid in America to look at our poster and say, ‘Oh, I see myself in that… I can do that someday.'”

What is the Artemis Mission Timeline?

On August 29, NASA intended to attempt its first launch of the unmanned Artemis I mission, which will fly a spacecraft around the moon. The launch window for the agency was two hours, but they ran into a number of problems, including an engine malfunction that required more time to fix.

On September 2, NASA will open a second 2-hour launch window. On September 5, the organization also has a 1.5-hour launch window.

Early in August, NASA announced that the Artemis II mission would be launched in 2024. The first crewed mission to leave low-Earth orbit since 1972, that mission will take men on a test flyby of the moon.

When NASA launches the Artemis III mission in 2025, it will transport the first woman and the first person of color to the moon’s surface.

But there’s a significant probability that the mission will run late. Simply put, getting ready for such a big endeavor takes time. For instance, the two companies developing the next-generation spacesuits that NASA will employ on the Artemis mission, Axiom and Collins Aerospace, indicated they anticipate being able to showcase the suits around 2025. Early in 2022, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin informed Congress that the Artemis III mission would not be feasible given those kinds of limitations might end up slipping well into 2026.

Since the beginning of the Artemis mission, there has been disagreement over the timeline. NASA initially anticipated returning to the moon by 2028 when then-President Donald Trump requested it in 2017. By setting a more ambitious timeframe in 2019, the Trump administration aimed to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024. The Artemis III mission will launch at the earliest in 2025, according to NASA.

What is the Objective of the Artemis I Mission?

In order to ensure that NASA is prepared to take personnel to the moon and beyond without putting anyone’s lives at risk – or too much risk rather – the Artemis I mission will be an unmanned mission to test the agency’s deep space exploration capabilities and equipment.

There are three primary goals for the mission. Its main objective is to show that the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft can withstand the intense heat and high speed of lunar re-entry. At its return from the moon, Orion will be moving at a speed of around 24,500 miles per hour. Outside of the heat shield, the spaceship will experience temperatures half as hot as the sun.

The second goal of Artemis I is to show how the rocket and the spacecraft—along with all of the facilities—operate and fly in all of the mission phases. Teams will check the launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, such as the navigation, propulsion, and communication systems, during the flight test. NASA wants more proof that Orion can withstand the harsh temperature environment of deep space while carrying humans as part of this goal.

The third goal is to rescue Orion once it has splashed down. While engineers will receive data all along the way, retrieving the crew module following splashdown will yield data that can be used to plan future flights. Three mannequins will be on board the spaceship to help NASA analyze how the craft performed.

The Artemis II Mission Objective

The second goal of Artemis I is to show how the rocket and the spacecraft—along with all of the facilities—operate and fly in all of the mission phases. Teams will check the launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, such as the navigation, propulsion, and communication systems, during the flight test. NASA wants more proof that Orion can withstand the harsh temperature environment of deep space while carrying humans as part of this goal.

The third goal is to rescue Orion once it has splashed down. While engineers will receive data all along the way, retrieving the crew module following splashdown will yield data that can be used to plan future flights. Three mannequins will be on board the spaceship to help NASA analyze how the craft performed.

Who will NASA Choose for the Moon Launch?

Which astronauts will go to the moon is still up in the air according to NASA. Later this year, the organization intends to select the astronauts who will ride on board Artemis II.

For all of the Artemis missions, the CIA will place the utmost importance on technological proficiency. NASA is looking for cooperative team members that get along with flight controllers. Wiseman emphasized the value of sending a diverse crew to the moon and said that the astronauts taking part in the mission will come from “all walks of life” with racial and gender inclusivity in mind.

The 42 astronauts on the NASA crew as well as 10 astronaut candidates are currently undergoing intensive training. Landing Army helicopters, researching rough terrain in places like Iceland, spending a lot of time at the bottom of a pool, and engaging in VR simulation training are all part of the process.

The south pole sits roughly near nine o’clock on the rim of the Shackleton crater, which has a diameter of around 12 miles (19 kilometers), in this multitemporal illumination map of the lunar south pole. The map was produced using pictures taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s camera.

What Will the Artemis III Mission Involve?

Astronauts will go to the lunar south pole on the Artemis III mission, a region of the moon where humans have yet to tread. Water is among the many possible resources that scientists expect to be available in abundance near the lunar south pole. The astronauts will look for these resources and consider ways to put them to use.

Along with constructing an Artemis Base Camp on the moon, the crew will also work to extend the Gateway, an outpost that will orbit the moon and serve as a forward base for both deep space exploration and long-term expeditions to the moon, and possibly Mars in the future. After that, the space agency plans on sending crewed missions to the moon around once every year.

Final Thoughts

These are exciting times for space lovers and humanity as a whole. We are collectively accelerating our space exploration efforts and extending our reach into the deep space.