This is the first time since 1972. Four astronauts, whose names will be released Monday, will travel to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, scheduled for November 2024.
The four astronauts will board NASA’s SLS rocket for a mission that should last about ten days. This rocket has only flown once so far, during the Artemis 1 mission. It is currently the most powerful in the world.
“It is the rocket that has the most powerful thrust, more powerful than the mythical Saturn 5 that sent men to the Moon in the 1960s, it is in particular due to these long flames from the two side thrusters, it is what gives 75% of the takeoff thrust during the first two minutes”, explains Philippe Henarejos, editor-in-chief of the magazine sky and space on BFMTV.
Circle the moon a thousand miles
The astronauts will take their place on top of this rocket in the Orion capsule, which will take off once in space and take them around the Moon, without landing there, “about a thousand kilometers” from it, according to the specialist. Therefore, they will go much further than the International Space Station.
“The ISS is 400 kilometers above sea level, the Moon is about 400,000 kilometers away”, specifies Philippe Henarejos.
“A Question of Technological Domination”
The maneuvers are planned, but for Gilles Dawidowicz, vice president of the French astronomical society, “there is no fundamental scientific problem” in returning to the Moon.
“It’s a question of technological dominance and something military,” he said.
Back on Earth, the astronauts will land in the ocean. A third mission, this time landing on the Moon, is scheduled for the end of 2025.
Source: BFM TV
