Artemis Program

spectratg

Senior Member
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Adamstown, MD
Artemis 1, the first flight of the Artemis program, launched early Wednesday morning of November 16. Nearly 9 million pounds (4 million kg) of thrust took the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into the final frontier, where it successfully sent an uncrewed Orion spacecraft toward the moon. The program's name is derived from Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and twin sister to Apollo, whose namesake program first brought astronauts to our natural satellite on July 20, 1969.

NASA intends to land the first woman on the moon with Artemis 3 in 2025. Between 1969 and 1972, six missions took place in which 12 people walked on the surface of the moon — all of them men. The current team of astronauts consists of nine women and nine men. About 75 women have been to space. The ultimate goal of the mission is to prepare for human exploration of Mars. The moon will serve as a test bed, for goals such as gathering material from the moon and possibly using that to make fuel. The Artemis program also includes the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a station around the moon that would extend humanity's presence in space and provide a platform for scientific experiments and jaunts to the lunar surface.

Artemis 1, 2022: The first mission is uncrewed to test the safety of the SLS rocket, and the Orion capsule's ability to reach the moon, perform in lunar orbit and return to Earth for an ocean splashdown. The SLS rocket will carry 13 small satellites into space to perform experiments and technology demonstrations. For six days the craft will orbit the moon, collecting performance data.

Artemis 2, 2024: Carrying the first four Artemis astronauts, the Orion capsule will take the crew farther from Earth than humans have ever traveled before. Over the approximately 10-day mission, the crew will complete a lunar flyby and return to Earth, evaluating the spacecraft's systems while carrying humans.

Artemis 3, 2025: This will see the first woman and the next man to step onto the lunar surface. Providing previous missions have been successful, the astronauts will shoot towards the moon, using the lunar lander to lower two people to the moon's south polar region. They will remain on the moon for around a week. For the initial Artemis moon missions, the selected astronauts will likely fly to the moon’s south pole. This area has great potential as it is believed to be home to the highest abundance of water ice. If we can extract this water, it could be used to sustain human exploration farther into space, whether that's as a human hydration source, rocket fuel resource, or cooling system for equipment. Other natural resources will also be investigated.
 

I could be more enthusiastic if not plagued with the thoughts of all the more useful places the money could have been spent. Sorry, don't mean to be a downer but there it is.
Yes of course it is always a matter of priorities. Is continued human exploration of space a worthwhile pursuit given all of the problems we have here on earth? Exploration is something that our species has always done. It's in our genes. We have reaped tremendous, practical benefits from our space adventures over the last 64 years. Studying the solar system has also brought us insights into such phenomena as gravity, the magnetosphere, the atmosphere, fluid dynamics and the geological evolution of other planets.
 

It's fascinating as heck but also expensive. The good news the private sector and other countries are now going into space which means alot more options for rockets, parts, systems etc which should drop or help manage the price.The more that participate in space exploration the more will benefit directly or indirectly.

Have to keep on eye on the bill of this thing like a cheap diner at a restaurant.
 
And care and protection of our own planet and its inhabitants is a far less profitable endeavor. Understood.
I watch these video lectures about space programs and this one astrophysicist said that, while in the process of exploring space and testing rockets and stuff, NASA has goals like ridding our atmosphere of space junk, seeking alternative power sources, learning how to prevent a devastating asteroid-earth impact, etc.

So, there's that.
 
A robotic mission would be cheaper. They do it on Mars. No life support needed and no return flight.
As exciting as a manned mission to Mars is, all the life support issues are extremely complex. I would like to see sophisticated autonomous robots sent to Mars, so that a life friendly habitat be built and stocked, and have the coffee on the stove or a few beers on ice, for when the humans show up.
 
A robotic mission would be cheaper. They do it on Mars. No life support needed and no return flight.
As exciting as a manned mission to Mars is, all the life support issues are extremely complex. I would like to see sophisticated autonomous robots sent to Mars, so that a life friendly habitat be built and stocked, and have the coffee on the stove or a few beers on ice, for when the humans show up.
Now where would be the fun in that? :)
 


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