Artemis II: NASA to Send Humans to Moon for the First Time in 50 Years
- NASA is preparing to send astronauts back towards the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with the Artemis II mission set to mark a major milestone
- The Orion capsule will not land but instead loop around the Moon in a free-return trajectory
- The mission came amid growing competition with China, which announced plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030
NASA is preparing to send astronauts back towards the Moon for the first time in more than half a century.
The mission, known as Artemis II, is expected to lift off in the coming weeks, though the exact date remains uncertain. As of January 26, the crew had been placed in quarantine while engineers carried out final checks on the rocket and its systems.
Source: Getty Images
The earliest launch window was set for 2.41am GMT on February 7, but officials warned that delays were possible.
Mission plan and trajectory
Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface. Instead, the Orion capsule would follow a “free-return trajectory”, looping around the Moon in a figure of eight before heading back to Earth.
This path was chosen to reduce risk, avoiding the need to slow down into lunar orbit and then fire engines to return. The spacecraft was scheduled to splash down on flight day ten.
The mission profile included:
• Low-Earth orbit insertion about 49 minutes after launch.
• System checks lasting around an hour.
• A boost to a high orbit reaching 70,000km from Earth.
• Engine firing to set course for the Moon.
• A flyby of the far side of the Moon on flight day six, taking the crew further from Earth than any humans before.
Safety concerns over Orion capsule
Artemis II would mark only the third flight of an Orion capsule. The uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 had revealed problems, including electrical glitches and communication losses.
Most notably, Orion’s heat shield suffered unexpected damage during re-entry. Although the shield did not fail, experts raised concerns. Charles Camarda, a former astronaut, described the shield as a “serious risk” in a public letter to NASA’s administrator Jared Isaacman.
NASA’s solution was to adjust the capsule’s re-entry trajectory rather than redesign the shield, a decision that delayed Artemis II by more than a year.
Source: Getty Images
Artemis III and the challenge of lunar landing
The next mission, Artemis III, was pencilled in for 2027 and aimed to land astronauts on the Moon. Few observers believed this deadline would be met.
Unlike Apollo, which managed lunar landings with a single rocket, Artemis required two launches. The Human Landing System (HLS), contracted to SpaceX, would be placed in lunar orbit first, followed by the crewed Orion capsule.
SpaceX planned to adapt its Starship upper stage for the lander, but progress was slow. Key technologies such as in-orbit refuelling had yet to be demonstrated. Even if tests succeeded this year, analysts suggested a crewed landing before 2028 was unlikely.
China’s lunar ambitions
China was emerging as a serious competitor. The China Manned Space Agency announced plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
In August, engineers tested the Lanyue lander in Hebei province with a simulated landing and take-off. The mission architecture involved two Long March 10 rockets: one carrying the Mengzhou crew capsule, the other the Lanyue lander.
While China’s rockets had yet to fly, experts noted that its approach appeared less risky than NASA’s. Lanyue resembled Apollo’s lunar module, avoiding the complexities of SpaceX’s refuelling plan.
Political debate in Washington
The Artemis programme faced criticism in the United States. Michael Griffin, a former NASA administrator, told Congress in December that “we have lost a lot of time, and we may not be able to return to the Moon before the Chinese execute their own first landing.” He argued that Artemis was “a plan that does not make sense” and suggested starting again with a simpler design.
Others believed the programme was driven more by politics than efficiency. Casey Dreier of the Planetary Society said, “Artemis is not optimised for cost or efficiency, it is optimised for political survival.”
What comes after Artemis II
NASA and China both spoke of building lunar bases. NASA planned to launch components for Lunar Gateway, a Moon-orbiting station, in 2027, with a permanent surface base targeted for 2030. On January 13, the agency announced plans to develop a nuclear reactor to power such an outpost.
Space historians remained cautious, recalling that similar ambitions during Apollo never materialised. Yet analysts suggested China might prove a more persistent rival than the Soviet Union. As Dr Patrick Besha observed, “I think China is in this for the long term.”
NASA astronauts float inside International space station
Legit.ng earlier reported that an astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS) has shared a video showing what life there looks like.
In a 30-second video shared on Facebook, the astronaut was spotted standing in a strange position at the space station where there is no gravity.
Source: Legit.ng
