Bianca Jusino
June 30, 2023
On November 16, 2022 at 1:47 am (EST), the Orion spacecraft launched as part of the Artemis I mission. This mission was just the first of a series of increasingly complicated missions that aim to “build a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come.” But, how exactly did we get the Orion into space, and how are we going to get humans there as well?
Planet Earth from the Orion spacecraft
Image credits: NASA, Artemis I
Artemis I is part of a set of three missions including the Artemis II and Artemis III missions. The purpose of the Artemis I mission was to test the Orion spacecraft’s ability to orbit the moon and safely re-enter the atmosphere as well as to test the SLS, or Space Launch System, for the subsequent missions. The Artemis II mission will be similar to the first except it will be a fully crewed flight test. The crew will consist of three astronauts from NASA by the names of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) by the name of Jeremy Hansen. Lastly, Artemis III will establish long term human presence on the moon, although planning is still underway. NASA has already selected three US companies to help them to develop the human landers for the Artemis III mission. These companies include Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX, each company having already proposed three awesome looking human landers.
Artist depiction of the SpaceX Starship
Image credits: SpaceX
There are many things we can both gain and learn from the Artemis I mission and the missions to follow. In the long term, these missions will help our economy thrive by opening thousands of jobs and giving opportunities to small businesses to contribute to something big, generating lots of money. Not only did the Artemis I mission allow us to build on decades worth of knowledge, but it also acts as a way to inspire America’s youth and reignite our passion for space exploration and scientific advancement, something the subsequent missions will only build upon. These next few missions will allow us to land the first woman and person of color to the moon to explore more of the lunar surface than we ever have before.
References
Artemis I. (n.d.). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1
How the Artemis Space Program Impacts the American Economy [Video podcast episode]. (2021, May 12). In U.S. Chamber OnDemand. U.S. Chamber of Commerce. https://www.uschamber.com/on-demand/economy/how-the-artemis-space-program-will-impact-america
Moon to Mars. (n.d.). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-blue-origin-dynetics-spacex-for-artemis-human-landers
NASA's First Flight With Crew Important Step on Long-term Return to the Moon, Missions to Mars. (2018, August 27). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-first-flight-with-crew-important-step-on-long-term-return-to-the-moon-missions-to
[Website displaying information on each facet of the Artemis I mission]. (n.d.). Artemis I. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/#two
[Website displaying information regarding the entire Artemis mission program]. (n.d.). Artemis. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/#how
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