It finally worked: The NASA moon mission is at 7.48 a.m. Central European Time Artemis 1 launched from the Cape Canaveral Cosmodrome in the US state of Florida. The unmanned capsule is to last around three weeks Orion now be in orbit around the moon to prepare for a lunar mission. Previously, the mission had to use the new rocket Space launch system postponed several times due to technical problems, such as a broken engine and a hydrogen leak. Two consecutive storms also prevented an earlier start.
With the program artemis US astronauts are supposed to land on the moon again in the coming years – after a 50-year absence. And it should be more diverse: for the first time, a woman and a non-white person should also have the opportunity to walk there. In a way, the moon is the stepping stone to Mars. During the next flights into space, outposts are to be built on it and its orbit as starting points for a later Mars mission. This is planned for 2025 at the earliest. The next probe, Artemis II, should have a crew of four on board and orbit the moon with Artemis III to land astronauts on the moon.
At the current Artemis-1-test mission, there are no people on board yet, but two dolls from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Zohar and Helga are “astronaut phantoms” and are supposed to test, among other things, whether a protective vest developed in Israel can effectively protect a female body in particular from dangerous space radiation. The exposure to radiation for the body is very high outside the earth’s magnetic field and is therefore one of the greatest burdens during a longer stay in space. The female body is more sensitive to this than the male.
New supply systems are to be tested
the Artemis 1 will enter an extended orbit around the moon, powered by the European Service Module (ESM), which will also provide power, water and air and keep the spacecraft at the right temperature. The aim of the first mission is primarily to test the newly developed systems in interaction. Maneuverability and heat resistance will also be tested when the probe re-enters the earth’s atmosphere.
The last time was NASA in 1972 with the Apollo 17-Mission on the moon, between 1969 and 1972 she sent a total of twelve astronauts there. Other countries – above all China – have committed space plans. The country is also working on putting its own astronauts on the moon. China has already taken rocks from the moon and was the first nation to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.