In the next few years, NASA will be busy on the moon.
A giant rocket with no astronauts aboard will go around the moon and back before the end of summer. A group of robotic landers will take experiments on the moon and collect loads of scientific data, mostly about water ice locked up in the polar regions. Several years from now, astronauts will set foot on the moon the first time since the last Apollo mission over half a century ago.
These are all apart of NASA’s 21st-century moon program called Artemis. Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. Later this week, a spacecraft called CAPSTONE will be launched as the first part of Artemis to head to the moon. Compared to what’s next, it’s size and scope is quite small.
There won’t be any astronauts aboard the CAPSTONE. The spacecraft is about as big as a microwave. The spacecraft won’t even land on the moon.
“NASA had gone to the moon before, but I’m not sure it’s ever been put together like this,” said Bradley Cheetham, the chief executive and president of Advanced Space, the company that’s managing the mission for NASA.
The launch was scheduled for Monday, but it was delayed by at least one day to give Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company providing CAPSTONE’s ride to orbit, more time to perform final checkups.
“Teams are evaluating weather and other factors to determine the date of the next launch attempt,” said NASA in a blog post. “The next launch opportunity within the current period is on June 28th.”
CAPSTONE is taking a slow, but efficient trajectory to the moon. If the spacecraft is off the ground by then, regardless of what day it launches, it will get to the lunar orbit on the same day: November 13.
NASA collaborates in new ways with private companies in hope of gaining additional capabilities at lower costs faster. “It’s another way for NASA to find out what it needs to find out and get the cost down,” says Bill Nelson, NASA’s administrator. The first Artemis landing mission is scheduled for 2025.
A giant rocket with no astronauts aboard will go around the moon and back before the end of summer. A group of robotic landers will take experiments on the moon and collect loads of scientific data, mostly about water ice locked up in the polar regions. Several years from now, astronauts will set foot on the moon the first time since the last Apollo mission over half a century ago.
These are all apart of NASA’s 21st-century moon program called Artemis. Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. Later this week, a spacecraft called CAPSTONE will be launched as the first part of Artemis to head to the moon. Compared to what’s next, it’s size and scope is quite small.
There won’t be any astronauts aboard the CAPSTONE. The spacecraft is about as big as a microwave. The spacecraft won’t even land on the moon.
“NASA had gone to the moon before, but I’m not sure it’s ever been put together like this,” said Bradley Cheetham, the chief executive and president of Advanced Space, the company that’s managing the mission for NASA.
The launch was scheduled for Monday, but it was delayed by at least one day to give Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company providing CAPSTONE’s ride to orbit, more time to perform final checkups.
“Teams are evaluating weather and other factors to determine the date of the next launch attempt,” said NASA in a blog post. “The next launch opportunity within the current period is on June 28th.”
CAPSTONE is taking a slow, but efficient trajectory to the moon. If the spacecraft is off the ground by then, regardless of what day it launches, it will get to the lunar orbit on the same day: November 13.
NASA collaborates in new ways with private companies in hope of gaining additional capabilities at lower costs faster. “It’s another way for NASA to find out what it needs to find out and get the cost down,” says Bill Nelson, NASA’s administrator. The first Artemis landing mission is scheduled for 2025.
