렛미톡광장

NASA Completes Moon Mission
작성자  : 관리자
On December 11, NASA’s Orion space capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. The landing marked a successful end to the U.S. space agency’s historic Artemis 1 moon mission.

The Artemis 1 mission was launched on November 16 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its goal was to send the newly developed Orion spacecraft on a test run to the moon to assess the possibility of future manned missions.

During the launch, NASA used its latest rocket, called the Space Launch System, to propel Orion into space. The most powerful rocket in history burned through 2.8 million liters of fuel as it sent Orion hurtling through the sky.

Once outside of Earth’s orbit, Orion deployed 10 tiny satellites called cubesats to gather various types of data. One of these was the BioSentinel, a device that carried yeast samples into space to study the effects of radiation on living organisms. Others included IceCube, a device for detecting water on the moon, and LunIR, designed to capture images of the moon’s surface.

In all, it took Orion nine days to reach lunar orbit. While the cubesats set to work, NASA monitored the temperature and pressure inside the Orion capsule via sensors attached to mannequins. This was to ensure that astronauts would be safe on upcoming missions. The craft also captured and sent back stunning pictures of Earth and the moon from space.

After traveling for 25.5 days and 2.3 million kilometers, Orion finished its round trip and made a blazing reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The Artemis 1 mission was officially declared a successful first step in NASA’s plans for future lunar exploration.

NASA’s next mission, Artemis 2, is scheduled to send astronauts on a 10-day mission around the moon in 2024. By 2026, the agency hopes to get astronauts to land on the lunar surface as part of its Artemis 3 mission.