Artemis II Lift Off
The Artemis II is flying to the Moon with four astronauts aboard and there is a hard drive with my name on it… you could say I am a virtual guest.
It’s too late to be worrying about the data implications, like, what if… an alien ship abducts them and they get my name? But then, if they are advanced beyond us, all they need to do is plug into our AI servers and know everything there is to know about humanity from the chatbots that have become our ubiquitous helpers, knowing far more about us than they should.
Anyway, on to humanity’s next great voyage.
After the success of Artemis I, which launched on the 15th of November 2022, NASA has been preparing for a crewed mission and here we are now.
The Apollo 11 Moon landing on 20 July 1969 was one giant leap for mankind, followed by six further missions, with Apollo 17 being the last crewed mission to the Moon, until now.
Artemis II‘s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, 1 April, at 6:35 p.m. EDT. NASA It is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
NASA is not trying to repeat the achievements of the Apollo missions. The Artemis programme is designed to return astronauts to the Moon and lay the groundwork for future missions to land on the lunar surface in 2028, with the long-term goal of establishing a permanent presence there.
The 10-day mission for NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen has primary objectives that include testing life support systems and demonstrating critical capabilities on the Orion spacecraft ahead of future lunar landing missions.
With this mission, Victor Glover becomes the first person of colour, Christina Koch the first woman, and Jeremy Hansen the first non-US citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The crew will loop behind the Moon, getting an unprecedented view of its far side, before returning to Earth for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Each SLS launch carries a multi-billion-dollar price tag, with SpaceX and Blue Origin being contracted to handle later missions with their cheaper, more reusable innovative technology. The hefty price tag is part of the reason we havent been to the moon in so long that conspiracy theories claim the moon landing was faked.
Why are we even going to the Moon? We are not done solving problems here on Earth, and yet we are looking to the stars. Is there something we should be aware of?
Have you been following any of the space updates?
Leave a Reply to BeatonCancel reply