ARTEMIS II: ONE STEP AT A TIME
As climate change has increasingly scarier impacts on our daily lives, billionaires seem to encourage more and more the idea of going to Mars and starting humanity over. As we all know, Elon Musk hasn’t been shy of his wish of colonizing the red planet stating that it’s “his company Space X primary goal”. Space X and NASA’s close partnership reveal their mutual goal to escape Earth as quality life slowly deteriorates. In a similar track, NASA has been preparing missions to eventually go to Mars.
Artemis II is the second step of NASA’s broader mission of fostering scientific discoveries and ultimately bringing human life to Mars. In the beginning of April, four crewmembers are set to go around the Moon and collect data from their spacetrip. Takeoff happened April 1st.
SCIENTIFIC DATA
This trip is very significant because it is the first crewed Artemis flight. NASA scientists will be able to collect data on the astronauts’ health and observe how space affects their wellbeing. Indeed, members will spend 10 days in a small spacecraft isolated from the world.
Scientists are interested in how that isolation can affect the astronauts and how to facilitate future flights. Members of the Artemis II mission will wear wristband devices. Those will monitor sleep and movements of the astronauts.
Scientists are also interested in how radiation will affect the health of the crew members. AVATAR( a virtual astronaut tissue analog response) will provide organ chips to the spacecraft. Organ chips are USB sized chips that are made from the crew’s bone marrow and imitate tissues. They are going to be used in Artemis II to determine how radiation will affect tissues in space. With that data, NASA could provide medical kits to counter those effects.
PAST AND FUTURE
Artemis I was the first step of the broader Artemis mission. In 2022, an uncrewed spacecraft flew around the Moon and back. It was a test to see if Orion, a spacecraft model, could be used for future missions. As it passed the test, the Artemis II mission continued forward. The third step of that plan is Artemis III planned for 2027. The mission’s goal is to orchestrate a landing on Earth, essentially practicing the Moon landing and coordinating NASA’s and SPACE X’s collaboration. Lastly, the last step is Artemis IV where astronauts will land on the Moon once again in early 2028.
A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT
Artemis 2 took off April 1st at 6:35 pm. The Orion spacecraft first circled earth to test out the maneuvering capacities of the spacecraft. Then, after 24 hours, the spacecraft accelerated to exit earth’s orbit and enter space. For the first time, the Artemis crew flew behind the moon, an area never seen by human beings. The astronauts took pictures and observed this neverseen area. During that time, Artemis had zéro contact with Earth as the moon blocked the signal. At that point, Artemis 2 had already set the record for the farthest human spaceflight reaching 248,655 miles away from earth.
Sources:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Artemis II, https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/.
CBC News. “Artemis 2 Launch Windows: How to Watch.” CBC News, https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/artemis-2-launch-windows-how-to-watch-9.7148402
Canadian Space Agency. The Artemis II Mission, Government of Canada, https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/fra/missions/artemis-ii/mission.asp
