The last few days have brought news for those who follow the space race or grew up with the idea that returning to the Moon was a matter of time.
With astronauts on board for the first time, the Orion capsule and the SLS rocket passed initial tests with performance above expectations, according to data released by NASA and analysis by experts interviewed by the BBC.
The mission marks a stage that simulators cannot reproduce: the behavior of the system with people inside, interacting with the equipment in real time. In the first days, the operation showed precision in the trajectory to the Moon and stability in the main systems, while at the same time exposing practical adjustments typical of a manned mission.
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What worked on Artemis II
The first data indicates that the mission worked as expected and even better in some points. The SLS rocket completed all launch stages without deviations, within what engineers consider essential.
The path to the Moon was also surprising in its precision. It was not even necessary to make some planned route corrections, as the ship was already on the right path.
The program team classified the maneuver that placed Orion towards the Moon as “impeccable”, reinforcing the system’s technical capacity. “They got it right the first time,” space scientist Simeon Barber of the Open University told the BBC.
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With astronauts on board, the Artemis II mission revealed points that do not appear in simulations.
The first day-to-day adjustments came at the beginning. Failures in the water system, issues with the use of the bathroom and minor problems with support systems were all resolved without affecting the flight’s progress.
At the same time, the team began to closely monitor the relationship between crew and equipment. Exercise routine, carbon dioxide control and tests with different propulsion configurations helped to verify how the set works in real conditions.
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According to Barber, this is precisely the central point of Artemis II: understanding how the equipment responds with people on board.
“It’s about putting humans in the loop and observing how the system behaves with these variables,” he explained to the BBC. The first signs show that Orion’s main systems, especially the propulsion systems, functioned stably.
What can still change the Moon’s schedule
Even with the positive results so far, it is still not possible to achieve a landing on the Moon by 2028. Experts consulted by the BBC assess that the deadline remains tight and depends on factors that go beyond the Orion capsule, such as the development of landing modules and the pace of the next missions.
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The mission showed that the spacecraft works and that there was real progress compared to previous tests. But there are still important steps beyond the flight itself that need to be taken for the return to the Moon to actually happen.
