NASA says Artemis I Mission is proceeding as per plan

The Orion spacecraft, which is at the core of NASA’s historic Artemis I mission, reached its farthest distance from Earth. It shattered the earlier record for the maximum distance a spacecraft designed to carry humans has ever traveled. NASA confirmed that the Orion capsule had reached about 270,000 miles from Earth. This is the midpoint of its uncrewed mission around the moon. This distance is more than 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon. Apollo 13 mission in 1970 holds the previous record for the farthest a human-rated spacecraft has traveled. That mission had humans on board and it had stretched out to 248,655 miles from our home planet. The goal of the present Artemis I mission is to test the Orion capsule to its limits. The objective is to ensure that the vehicle is ready to host humans. The trial run is part of NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the 1970s. In a program of this nature, there could be problems and these have not posed any problems. Orion Program Manager Howard Hu said the spacecraft’s performance has been “outstanding.” In fact, the spacecraft is outperforming expectations in some respects. An example is producing about 20 percent more power than needed. NASA’s Orion spacecraft reaches record-breaking distance from Earth on Artemis I mission. The satisfactory progress of work impressed NASA. It plans to add seven additional mission objectives. These will gather additional data about the spacecraft’s capabilities and performance.

The spacecraft will swoop back toward the moon before firing its engines exit its current trajectory and head back toward Earth. The Orion capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on December 11. Experts will keep a watch on the behavior of the heat shield. After landing, Orion must safely deploy parachutes to ensure a gentle ocean splashdown. A NASA recovery ship will be ready to haul the Orion capsule to safety. The success of Artemis I mission will mean NASA will proceed to choose a crew to fly on the Artemis II mission. This could take off as soon as 2024. Its mission would be to fly around the moon but not land on its surface. That will be mission of Artemis III in 2025. It will be unique because it will include the first woman and the first person of color to achieve such a milestone.

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NASA shelves Artemis I unmanned mission to the moon and back while China tries to keep abreast of America

China is becoming Asia’s rapidly growing space power. It is progressing on its own program to put both robotic and crewed spacecraft on the lunar surface. It wants to keep pace with NASA-led achievements. Ambitious plans of China include sample-return missions from the Moon, landings at the South Pole and sending astronauts there on a short-term visit. In 2024, there are plans to collect rock samples from the far side of the moon. Incidentally, in 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. Subsequently, Chang’e-5 mission in 2020 carried out the first sampling of lunar material in over four decades. It brought 1.731 grams of lunar rocks to Earth. Then Chang’e-6 plans to collect fresh samples. China’s Moon Missions Shadow NASA Artemis’s Pace. Study of these samples could provide answers to the geological past of the Moon. That is what a planetary scientist of the University of Manchester, England.

The next mission would be Chang’e-6 in 2024. It will focus on the lunar south pole where NASA plans to land Artemis 3 crewed mission. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the country’s main space contractor. It is developing a new rocket that will be specifically meant for launching astronauts beyond low Earth orbit. NASA is leading humanity’s journey to the moon, but China is not too far behind. It is gradually accumulating capabilities for its long-term ambitions.

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