Humans will fly to the moon again for the first time in 50 years

The Artemis II crew will consist of four astronauts - three from the United States and one from Canada. The flight will last about 10 days: the ship will fly around the Moon and return to Earth without landing. In its logic, the mission resembles the historic Apollo 8 flight in 1968.

Details

This launch will be several "firsts" for modern astronautics. It will be the first time in more than half a century that people will go to the Moon, and not only Americans, but also a representative of another country will be on board. In addition, the mission involves a woman, which also emphasises the changes in the approach to the formation of crews.

The main task of the flight is to test the new heavy rocket SLS and Orion spacecraft in manned mode. These technologies should form the basis for further missions, including a human landing on the Moon, which is planned in the next phase of the programme.

Why it matters

NASA sees the Moon as an intermediate step towards the more ambitious goal of a mission to Mars. It is envisaged that in the future there could be a permanent base on the Moon, which would become a training ground for long-distance expeditions.

At the same time, the international context is also intensifying. China is also actively developing its lunar programme and plans to land humans on the surface of the satellite by 2030. This is creating a new form of space rivalry, although on a scale different from the Cold War race.

Despite the high level of preparation, the mission remains risky. The craft has not yet flown with humans on board, and the distance to the moon is more than 384,000 kilometres - much further than the International Space Station's orbit. NASA emphasises that any manned flight beyond Earth orbit requires the utmost precision and does not allow for compromises in safety.

If the Artemis II mission is successful, it will pave the way for a full human return to the Moon - for the first time in decades - and will be one of the key milestones in the new era of space exploration.

Source

The Artemis II mission is part of NASA's lunar programme. The material is based on the agency's data and AFP publication on the Phys.org website