Artemis 1 launch, scheduled for February 2022

NASA has announced that the Artemis 1 mission will begin in February 2022. This mission was scheduled to be carried out in November of this year, but the schedule was delayed due to the impact of typhoons such as the Corona 19 epidemic and the huge Hurricane Ida.

In the Artemis 1 mission, an unmanned Orion spacecraft mounted on an SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is supplied to lunar orbit. The return will be launched in the Pacific Ocean. On October 21, NASA completed the installation of the Orion spacecraft on the SLS rocket. A final test will be conducted in January for the launch period of February 12-27. For example, from filling the fuel tank with propellant to the firing countdown, everything necessary for a launch is performed just like a real launch. When the final inspection is successfully completed, the spacecraft and rocket return to the assembly building and complete final preparations.

The Artemis 1 mission is launched automatically, but you will experience an astronaut heading to the moon with a sensor-equipped doll on the spaceship. Acceleration, radiation intensity, and gas vibration are investigated. If this mission is successful, it will be followed by Artemis 2, in which astronauts board the Orion spacecraft to circle the moon and return, and then to Artemis 3, in which crew members including women and people of color land on the moon.

The Artemis 1 success is an important milestone to confirm that both the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket have the ability to accomplish lunar missions. And it is the first step for mankind to jump out of Earth’s orbit and jump back into space, decades after the Apollo program. Related information can be found here.