'Artemis 2' Mission
NASA is preparing to send astronauts to the Moon under the 'Artemis 2' mission. Artemis 2 is the second scheduled mission of NASA's Artemis program and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft, currently planned for launch by the Space Launch System (SLS) in November 2024.
The crewed Orion spacecraft will perform a lunar flyby and return to Earth. Artemis 2 is planned to be the first manned spacecraft to travel beyond the Moon or low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Victor Glover has been made the pilot of this mission. Also on board will be Commander Reed Wiseman, Mission Specialist-1 Christina Hammock Koch and Mission Specialist-2 Jeremy Hansen.
This mission will be about 10 days, Artemis II will be launched from Powerful Space Launch System rocket. Orion spacecraft will be used for this. This will be the second spaceflight for Reed Wiseman, who previously served as flight engineer aboard the International Station for Expedition 41 from May to November 2014, to be a part of the mission. Artemis II will fly about 6,400 miles (10,300 km) from the far side of the Moon, making it the largest lunar manned mission since Apollo 17.
Objective of Artemis 2 Mission:
The Artemis 2 mission plan aims to send four astronauts on the Orion MPCV spacecraft using the Block 1 version of the Space Launch System, the first crewed lunar flyby for a maximum of 21 days. The mission profile is a multiple-trans lunar injection (MTLI), or multiple departure burns, and includes a free return trajectory to the Moon.
The Orion spacecraft will be sent into a high Earth orbit with a period of about 42 hours. During this time the crew will perform various checkouts of the spacecraft's life support systems as well as conduct an in-space rendezvous and proximity operation using the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a target. When Orion reaches perigee once again, it will fire its main engine to complete the TLI maneuver that will send it into a lunar free return trajectory before returning to Earth.
About the four astronauts selected for the Artemis 2 mission:-
- Reid Wiseman (47): A US Navy pilot who briefly served as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office. He flew a previous space mission to the International Space Station in 2015.
- Victor Glover (46): A test pilot for the US Navy. He joined NASA in 2013 and made his first space flight in 2020. He was the first African American to live on the space station for an extended period of six months.
- Christina Koch (44): An electrical engineer. She holds the record for the longest continuous stay in space by a woman at 328 days. She participated in the first female spacewalk in October 2019, along with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.
- Jeremy Hansen (47): Prior to joining the Canadian Space Agency, he was a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He has yet to fly into space.