Astronauts will be ‘living and working on the moon’ within a decade, says NASA | Science & Tech News
NASA plans to send astronauts to work and live on the moon for up to two months within a decade.
NASA’s Artemis rocket ship start the course for the moon this week, sending a next-generation capsule on a crewless voyage around the moon and back 50 years after Apollo’s last lunar mission.
The US space agency’s delayed and highly anticipated launch from Florida has finally kicked off Apollo’s successor, Artemis, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface within a decade. and establish a sustainable base there as a stepping stone for future human exploration of Mars .
And now NASA has said that the program is actually a stepping stone to sending regular crews to the moon — and even letting them stay for longer periods of time.
It plans to establish what it calls Artemis Base Camp, which will feature a “modern lunar cabin and even a mobile home” allowing astronauts to stay for up to two months.
NASA’s next-generation lunar rocket, the Orion Crew Space Launch System rocket, takes off from Cape Canaveral
A spokesman said: “NASA will build the mission to bring humans back in four years and plan to send a crew to the moon about once a year after that.
“To provide astronauts with a place to live and work on the moon, the agency’s Artemis Base Camp concept includes a state-of-the-art lunar cabin, a rover and even a home mobile.
“Initial missions will include a short stay on the surface, but as base camp grows, the goal is to allow the crew to stay on the lunar surface for up to two months.”
The three-week Artemis I mission that took off this week included a 25-day Orion flight that brought the capsule within about 60 miles (97 km) of the lunar surface before flying about 40,000 miles (64,400 km) km) beyond the moon and back to Earth.
The capsule is expected to fall into the sea on December 11.
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Sky’s Thomas Moore looks at the Orion spacecraft’s journey
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Although there were no astronauts on board, the mission set the stage for returning humans to the moon, more than five decades later. Apollo’s landing. Twelve astronauts walked on the moon during the six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972.
After decades of NASA focusing on low-Earth orbit with space shuttles and the International Space Station, Artemis I signals a major shift in direction for the human spaceflight program. post-Apollo of this agency.
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New footage from NASA’s Orion spacecraft shows Earth from space
Named after the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt – and Apollo’s twin sister – Artemis aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025, promising to carry “first woman and first black man” to walk on the moon.
“With increasing demand for access to the moon, we’re developing technologies to achieve it,” said Kathy Lueders, deputy administrator for manned spaceflight at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. unprecedented presence of humans and robots 240,000 miles from home.
“Our experience on the moon this decade will prepare us for an even greater adventure in space – the human exploration of Mars.”
