NASA’s Artemis Programme

In News

• Recently, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket Artemis I rolled out from Kennedy Space Centre.

Image Courtesy: NASA 

Artemis Mission

• Aim:
  • To land humans on the moon by 2024, and it also plans to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon.
  • To contribute to scientific discovery and economic benefits and inspire a new generation of explorers.
• Named after:
  • The twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology. 
  • Artemis is also the goddess of the moon.
• About the mission:
  • Artemis I is the first of NASA’s deep space exploration systems. 
  • It is touted as the next generation of lunar exploration.
  • It is an uncrewed space mission where the spacecraft will launch on SLS, the most powerful rocket in the world.
  • It will travel 2,80,000 miles from the earth for over four to six weeks during the course of the mission. 
• Launch dates:
  • Artemis 1: Summer 2022 (TBC)
  • Artemis 2: 2022-2023 (TBC)
  • Artemis 3: 2024
• Spacecraft: 
  • The Orion spacecraft is going to remain in space without docking to a space station, longer than any ship for astronauts has ever done before.
• SLS Rocket:
  • The SLS rocket has been designed for space missions beyond low-earth orbit.
  • It can carry crew or cargo to the moon and beyond. 
• Artemis Base Camp:
  • Base camp will be established on the surface and a gateway in lunar orbit to aid exploration by robots and astronauts. 
  • It will give astronauts a place to live and work on the moon.
  • It includes a modern lunar cabin, a rover, and a mobile home.
• Gateway: 
  • The gateway is a critical component of NASA’s sustainable lunar operations and will serve as a multi-purpose outpost orbiting the moon.
  • It is a spaceship in lunar orbit where astronauts will transfer between Orion and the lander on regular Artemis missions. 
  • Gateway will remain in orbit for more than a decade, providing a place to live and work, and supporting long-term science and human exploration on and around the Moon.
• Space agencies involved:
  • The Canadian Space Agency has committed to providing advanced robotics for the gateway, 
  • The European Space Agency will provide the International Habitat and the ESPRIT module, which will deliver additional communications capabilities among other things. 
  • The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to contribute habitation components and logistics resupply.

Significance

• More Knowledge: As more is known about the Moon compared with 50 years ago (and technologies have greatly advanced), NASA claims that this next series of missions will be able to retrieve samples more strategically than during the Apollo era.
• Finding Resources: The discovery of water on the Moon and potential deposits of rare minerals hold promise for both scientific and economic exploration and exploitation.
• Way to Mars: It will pave a way to mars explorations. NASA sees Artemis as laying the foundation for both international space agencies and private companies to build a lunar settlement and economy, and from there eventually send humans to Mars.

• Lunar Economy: It will enable a growing lunar economy by fueling new industries, supporting job growth, and furthering the demand for a skilled workforce.

ISRO’s Attempt to Moon Exploration

• Chandrayaan 1:  Chandrayaan-1 was the first lunar space probe of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • It began in 2007 with an agreement between India’s space agency ISRO and Russia’s ROSCOSMOS for mutual cooperation.
  • It confirmed the presence of lunar water and evidence of lunar caves formed by an ancient lunar lava flow.
• Chandrayaan 2: It is India’s second mission to the moon and comprises a fully indigenous Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).
• Chandrayaan 3: The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 of July 2019, which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole. 

Source: TH