Last December, NASA completed the first Artemis mission, which involved an uncrewed Orion capsule traveling around the Moon for over 25 days before returning safely to Earth. Now, the agency is gearing up for Artemis 2, which is scheduled to happen in late November 2024. This time, a four-person crew will embark on a journey around the Moon, although they won’t be landing on it.
NASA associate administrator Jim Free told in a press conference,
“We’re looking forward to that crew flying on Artemis 2,”
He added more,
“Right now, there’s nothing holding us up based on what we learned on Artemis 1.”
Later this year, they will announce the crew members for the highly anticipated Artemis 2 mission. There will be 4 members that will become part of this lunar mission. One of the astronauts will be from Canada. The other persons are not confirmed yet. Learning about the people behind these incredible space missions is always fascinating. However, NASA plans to make this mission completely different from its earlier lunar missions. This mission will carry a woman and a colored person.
It’s well-known that only 12 white men have had the opportunity to set foot on the Moon thus far. However, NASA is determined to change that with its upcoming missions.
Looking further ahead, another milestone to look forward to. Artemis 3 is set to happen approximately one year after Artemis 2. This time, astronauts will land on the Moon’s south pole for the first time in history.
About this, Free made the following statement in front of press reporters,
“Our plan has always been 12 months, but there are significant developments that have to occur,”
He added more,
“We’re still sticking with that 12 months, but we’re always looking at the development of all the hardware that has to come together for that.”
Some necessary items are still under development, i.e., a lunar lander that SpaceX and spacesuits are developing.
After this mission, NASA plans to keep a permanent presence of humans on Mars in a year-long trip to Mars.
The Orion spacecraft has already achieved some impressive feats in preparation for these missions. During a recent journey around the Moon and back, the spacecraft covered over a million miles and traveled farther from Earth than any other habitable spacecraft has gone before.
