Due to a very specific flight path, the launch can only occur at precise times
The launch of the Artemis II mission by the North American space agency NASA, the first manned flight around the Moon in more than 50 years, is scheduled for this Wednesday, when it is close to 11:30 pm in Lisbon.
NASA’s SLS rocket, to which the Orion spacecraft is attached, is expected to take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:24 pm local time, beginning the journey of around 10 days.
Due to a very specific flight path, the launch can only occur at precise times. If today’s fails, launches are possible every day until April 6 and again at the end of the month, according to the France-Presse news agency.
Mission commander Reid Wiseman said Sunday that everything was in place for the launch, which had been scheduled for nearly two months but was delayed due to technical and weather issues.
“We are ready to go, the team is ready to go and the vehicle is ready to go, but not for a second do we expect that we will take off,” said Wiseman at the astronauts’ last virtual press conference before launch.
“We may go to the launch pad and have to try a few more times, and we are 100% prepared for that,” he added.
A legacy of programs launched in the 2000s to succeed the space shuttle, the Artemis mission aims to return Americans to the Moon to establish a long-term presence and set the stage for future missions to Mars.
After a test flight of the rocket and spacecraft in 2022, NASA wants to ensure they function properly during the Artemis II mission before attempting a moon landing in 2028, on the Artemis IV mission.
This lunar mission is historic for being the first whose crew includes a woman, Christina Koch, a black man, pilot Victor Glover, and a Canadian, Jeremy Hansen, from the Canadian Space Agency.
Former Navy test pilot and former NASA astronaut chief Reid Wiseman, 50, commands the mission and is accompanied by his compatriot Victor Glover, 49, also a former United States Navy astronaut, who will pilot the spacecraft and will be the first black person to travel to the Moon.
Christina Koch, 47, is an engineer by training, while the first non-American to fly over the Moon, Jeremy Hansen, is a 50-year-old former fighter pilot.
After takeoff, Orion will enter Earth orbit to carry out checks and maneuvers to ensure the reliability and safety of the ship, which has never transported humans to date.
If these tests are successful, the probe will generate the necessary thrust to leave Earth’s orbit and begin the journey towards the Moon, in three to four days, during which further tests and scientific experiments will be carried out.
Once they get close to the Moon, astronauts will orbit it and fly over its far side, hoping they will break the Apollo 13 mission record by becoming the furthest humans have traveled from Earth.
Their observations could help NASA choose the landing site for Artemis IV, which will venture to the Moon’s south pole, where no human being has ever been before.
The trajectory followed by Orion is called “free return”, which means it was designed so that the spacecraft is attracted to the Moon and then brought back to Earth naturally.
The return journey will last three or four days and will be marked by atmospheric reentry, one of the most dangerous moments of the mission, after which the spacecraft will land in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.
Unlike what happened with the Apollo program, NASA is now collaborating with other countries, mainly European, and with the private sector, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, owned by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively, which will be responsible for developing the lunar landing modules.
