WHY IS IT CALLED ARTEMIS AND WHAT COMES NEXT?
The Artemis programme is called after the dual sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, signalling NASA’s return to the Moon following the Apollo missions.
Artemis II follows Artemis I, an uncrewed take a look at flight that orbited the Moon in 2022.
Future missions are anticipated to construct on this basis, finally paving the way in which for missions to Mars.
Artemis III is deliberate for 2027 and can contain the Orion capsule docking in Earth’s orbit with NASA’s two lunar landers.
The 2 lunar landers are the Blue Moon system from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Starship from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Artemis IV will then see an try at a lunar touchdown, which is scheduled for 2028. Observations from the Artemis II mission ought to assist NASA select a touchdown web site for Artemis IV, which is able to enterprise to the Moon’s south pole, the place no human has ever been.
The final mission, Artemis V, is aimed toward additional increasing long-term lunar infrastructure, together with a attainable moon base, NASA has mentioned.
Senior fellow on the Brookings Establishment’s Middle for Expertise Innovation of the Governance Research programme, Darrell West, sees a lot financial potential each on the Moon and Mars.
“You may mine minerals in every of these locations,” he instructed CNA.
“Every will in all probability find yourself being main vacationer websites, perhaps extra for the extremely rich than for common folks.”
HOW IS ARTEMIS DIFFERENT FROM APOLLO?
Whereas Apollo was pushed by Chilly Battle rivalry and the race to land the primary people on the Moon, Artemis is targeted on long-term exploration.
NASA now goals to ascertain a sustained presence on the Moon, quite than short-term visits. The programme additionally includes collaboration with worldwide companions and personal firms, together with SpaceX and Blue Origin.
One other key distinction is tempo.
It took NASA simply eight years to go from placing its first astronaut in house to placing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969.
Artemis, in contrast, has progressed extra slowly amid shifting priorities between the Moon and Mars, in addition to technical and funding challenges.
Geopolitics stays an element, nonetheless.
Whereas the US as soon as raced the Soviet Union, it now faces rising competitors from China, which has already landed robotic missions on the Moon’s far aspect.
