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"We took your hearts with us and, past the Moon, your hearts are what kept ours beating. This is what Artemis II taught me."
Artemis is a program led by NASA, whose main objective is to return humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years. Their main goals include: Building a lunar gateway, an artemis base camp, diversity in space and economic growth. It is the only staffed flight going into deep space since Apollo 17 in 1972, the only staffed flight of the NASA-led Artemis program, the only staffed flight of the SLS, and the only staffed flight of the Orion spacecraft. It was the first staffed flight to follow the Artemis I test, sending four astronauts around the Moon and back without landing.
What is the difference between the Apollo mission and the Artemis mission?
Apollo was a mission conducted from 1961 to 1972. The Apollo mission began during the cold war, when the USA and the Soviet Union were competing in the space race. In 1961, president Kennedy ordered NASA to send a human to the Moon by 1970, even though no one had ever flown past Earth's orbit before. The main goal was to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. Nasa succeeded when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969. However Artemis’s mission is to establish that the moon is safe to live, work and explore on a regular basis. Its goal is to return astronauts to the moon, landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, building a sustainable lunar exploration program, and preparing astronauts for future missions to Mars.
Artemis’s purpose was to establish that everything was in working order before another attempt of the moon landing. Making it a test flight. The crew spent time testing Orion’s systems such as air supply, navigation, and engines. The crew, an incredible group of 4 astronauts consisted of Christina Koch- a mission specialist, she helped make history by taking part in the first all-female spacewalk, and set the record for the longest time a woman had spent in space on a single mission. Jeremy Hansen- a mission specialist,He is the first person from Canada selected for a Moon mission and is representing Canada's space agency. Victor Glover- The pilot, He was the first African American astronaut to live and work on the International Space Station (ISS) for a long mission. Now, he has been chosen to be the pilot on a mission that will take humans farther into space than they have gone in decades. And Reid Wiseman- The commander, He is an experienced NASA astronaut who has already been on several space missions. He previously served as the commander of the International Space Station (ISS), and now he is leading this mission.
During the first day, Artemis launched an earth orbit operation, which means during the first day, they were orbiting earth. The crew checked life support systems, tested manual flight controls, tested drinking water systems, and the spacecraft's toilet and carbon dioxide removal systems. During day two, once Orion passed all the safety checks, its engine performed a TLI(Trans Lunar Injection) that sent the spacecraft toward the moon at more than 24,000 miles per hour. During day three and four, the spacecraft reached halfway to the moon. The crew continued to inspect the spacecraft for any issues, conducting navigation exercises using stars, talking with Mission Control through NASA's Deep Space Network and recording scientific observations of Earth and space. On day five, the spacecraft performed a lunar fly by, using the moon's gravity to slingshot the spacecraft. The spacecraft is now on a free return trajectory, so in the case that the systems had failed, gravity would bring the crew back to earth. Day six was the highlight of the artemis as Orion flew near the south pole of the moon as it has never been explored before. This is important because Artemis’s next targeted mission is to explore water ice for drinking, oxygen and fuel. At this point, Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth and they experienced a solar eclipse from space, with the Moon blocking the Sun. Day 7,8 and 9 were all about preparing for re-entry into the earth. During this time period the crew conducted regular health and safety checks, reviewed collected data and shared images and experiences with society. On the final day they landed back on earth, in the process of a splash down, where the spacecraft landed in the pacific ocean.
To conclude, Artemis 2 marks a significant mission in history for all of its accomplishments, the amazing crew, and the beneficial drive behind it.