The US space agency (NASA) will try to launch the new SLS lunar rocket for the second time this Saturday, after the takeoff was canceled on Monday due to technical problems.
The launch will take place from NASA’s base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a two-hour “window of opportunity” opening at 7:17 pm in Lisbon.
The test flight of the SLS, which is docked on top of the Orion spacecraft, which will orbit the Moon with three mannequins on board, was postponed due to a fuel leak, valve failure and insufficient cooling of one of the four main engines. .
On Tuesday, the technical team met to analyze the data and decided to make the second launch attempt today, ruling out the possibility of Friday, which was planned in the previous calendar (which includes a third launch date, September 5).
If it materializes, the launch of the SLS, successively postponed over the years, marks the start of the Artemis lunar program, with which the United States intends to return to the surface of the Moon in 2025, one year later than planned, putting The first female astronaut and the first black astronaut launched the ground. The last landing was about 50 years ago, in December 1972.
In 2024, NASA wants to bring astronauts back into lunar orbit.
The 98-meter-tall SLS is NASA’s most powerful rocket since Saturn V, which carried astronauts to the moon between 1969 and 1972 as part of the Apollo program. Only American astronauts, 12 in all, have been to the Moon.
Like the Saturn V, the SLS is not reusable, so new units will have to be built for new missions.
The new rocket, which is twice the height of the Santa Justa Elevator in Lisbon, will transport, in the first mission, ten scientific microsatellites (the size of a shoebox) which, after being launched into space, will allow the study from the effects of radiation, an asteroid, or the icy surface of the Moon.
Partially reusable, the Orion spacecraft will stay in space longer than any other astronaut spacecraft without docking to a space station, returning to Earth faster and hotter. Its heat shield is the largest ever built.
Orion has a European module (from the European Space Agency, ESA) that will take it to its destination and back “home”, allowing astronauts on future missions to have control of light, water, oxygen, nitrogen and temperature.
Dummies aboard the first mission have sensors to test the effects of radiation, acceleration and vibration.
The spacecraft will fly around the Moon, after separating from the SLS rocket, in a distant orbit for a few weeks before returning to Earth and docking in the Pacific Ocean.
The first mission of the Artemis program lasts a month and a half and serves to test the performance and safety of the SLS and Orion flight.
With the new lunar program, NASA hopes to “establish sustainable missions” to the Moon starting in 2028 and then send astronauts to Mars. The departure for these lunar missions or for Mars will be carried out from a space station that will be installed in orbit of the Moon, the Gateway.
In Greek mythology, Artemis (Artemis in Portuguese) was the twin sister of Apollo (Apollo) and goddess of the hunt and the Moon.
Artemis Project
The first step of the Artemis mission (Artemis I) is to put the crew capsule into orbit so that it can circle the moon for six weeks, allowing NASA to perform a series of tests on the system, in support of vital before people get on. meeting.
Artemis II has the same goal as the first: to bring instruments and astronauts to the moon who will make preparations for the safe arrival of humans.
Artemis III will mark the return of humanity to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. NASA has identified 30 regions near the South Pole of the moon. Each region represents multiple opportunities to search for lunar resources.
With Artemis, NASA is drawing on more than 50 years of exploration experience to rekindle “America’s passion” for space exploration. When it comes to economic opportunity, NASA’s mission will enable a growing lunar economy, fueling new industries, supporting job growth, and promoting a skilled workforce.
On the other hand, Artemis will also explore more of the moon than ever before together with commercial and international partners. Along the way, the mission will engage and inspire a new audience: the Artemis generation.
“Everything we build, everything we study, everything we do, prepares us to go (to the moon)”, read on the official NASA website.
Source: TSF
