Artemis 1 is the first flight of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return
The most important goal of the Artemis 1 mission istest the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft. Its diameter is 5 meters and it is the largest of its kind. It is important for scientists to understand whether this “shield” will withstand high temperatures when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km/h and heats up to 2,800 °C during its return from the Moon.
Payload
The living ones will also fly with the Artemis-1 missionorganisms. Yeast - as part of the Zea experiment. Scientists will check how radiation affected their DNA. In addition to yeast, the seeds of Tal's rhizoid moth, four strains of the mold Aspergillus nigra, as well as photosynthetic algae of the Chlamydomonas Reinhardt species are also flying into space - these are also separate biological experiments.
Source: NASA HQ PHOTO
NASA will also analyze whether it is suitableOrion spacecraft for transporting astronauts. For this purpose, special mannequins are used, which are equipped with radiation sensors. They are found in the artificial organs of “Helga” and “Zohar”. Also, a “commander” - a dummy wearing a new Orion Crew Survival System suit - will also be sent into lunar orbit. In total, the 3-meter spacecraft can accommodate up to four astronauts.
NASA pays special attention to studying the impactradiation on the female body. Let us remember that one of the goals of the aerospace agency is to send the first woman to the Moon. One of the dummies will be dressed in a special Astrorad protective vest, and the second will fly without additional protection.
What do you need to know about the mission?
NASA is about to launch its biggest rocket for the first time since the famous Saturn V took Apollo astronauts to the moon. This is the first lunar mission in 53 years.
The Artemis program was made public in September 2020of the year. Its main goal is the return of American astronauts to the Moon, the construction of a near-lunar station and the preparation of conditions for the possible colonization of the Earth's natural satellite in the future.
NASA began development of the SLS in 2011, immediatelyfollowing the cancellation of the Constellation lunar program, in which the Ares rocket was supposed to send the Orion spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, and eventually Mars.
At that time, the budget for the development of a giant rocketwas $ 10 billion, and the debut flight was scheduled for 2016. But development costs, budget issues, design changes, political hurdles and other issues have delayed the first launch of the rocket to 2017, then to 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and finally to 2022.
In its basic version, the SLS can put 95 tons of payload into orbit. Promising modifications of the launch vehicle will provide an increase in carrying capacity up to 130 tons.
Source: Stuart Rankin
Much has happened in space over more thana decade of SLS development, including the advent of commercial cargo and commercial crew flights to the ISS, the introduction of SpaceX's reusable rockets, and the exponential growth of new private space companies. So far in 2022, there have been 37 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, the vast majority of which are on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
Delays
The Artemis 1 mission was scheduled to launch from the Florida cape on August 29, but the launch never took place. The problem is one of the SLS engines, which could not warm up to the required temperature.
Engineers noticed problems during the processloading fuel. According to the plan, the launch controllers increase the pressure in the main stage tanks. This is necessary to bleed some of the fuel into the engines. As a result, they “reach” the proper temperature to start. In the third engine this process did not go as it should.
After several unsuccessful attempts to fix the problem, NASA decided to celebrate the launch. After solving the problem, the start of the mission was postponed several more times. Particularly due to bad weather.
Why return to the moon?
In recent years, criticism of the lunarmissions, for example by Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins and Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin. Both have long advocated for the United States to go straight to Mars. But NASA experts say that reconquering the Moon is a must before flying to the Red Planet.
Radiation check
For starters, in deep space radiation is muchmore intense and poses a real threat to the health of astronauts. Low Earth orbit, in which the International Space Station (ISS) operates, is partially protected from radiation by the Earth's magnetic field, unlike the Moon.
Since the first Artemis mission, NASA has planned many experiments to study its effects on living organisms, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the radiation vest.
Resource usage
The ISS can be replenished quite easily, but the Moon, and even more so Mars, is much more difficult. Therefore, NASA wants to learn how to use the resources that are present on the surface of the natural satellite.
Source: Overwatchfan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In particular, water in the form of ice, which scientists already know exists at the south pole of the moon, can be converted into rocket fuel by splitting it into individual hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Technology testing
NASA also wants to test technologies on the Moonthat will help the Mars mission. Firstly, new spacesuits for spacewalks. Their development was entrusted to Axiom Space for the first manned mission to the Moon no earlier than 2025. Secondly, vehicles - both pressurized and unpressurized - for the astronauts' movement, as well as a stationary habitat at the lunar base camp.
new station
As part of the Artemis program, NASA will buildGateway space station in orbit around the moon. At the first stage, it is intended to study the Moon and deep space, and later - as a transfer station for astronauts heading to Mars and back.
Portable nuclear systems
Finally, for sustainable access to the sourceEnergy NASA is working to develop portable nuclear fission systems. Solving any problems that arise will be much easier on the Moon, which is just a few days away, than on Mars, which takes several months to get to.
What's next?
If all goes well, NASA spacecraftwill land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Along the way, the mission will deploy 10 tiny cubesats. Their task is to search for water on the Moon, study the level of radiation from deep space and perform many other tasks.
According to the agency's plan, in 2024 the launch will take placethe Artemis 2 mission, which will send a crew of four astronauts to the Moon. Then it's time for the Artemis 3 mission, which is planned for 2025. During the tests, American astronauts will land on the surface of the moon.
Read more:
The main theory of the origin of man was refuted: where did we come from
Results of first cancer drug trial published
8 billion people now live on Earth: is overpopulation threatening the planet?