Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of two new space systems: the world\u2019s most powerful rocket \u2013 the Space Launch System<\/a> \u2013 and the Orion crew spacecraft.<\/p>\n It will travel to the Moon, skimming 100km above its surface before entering a retrograde<\/a> orbit that takes it 70,000km beyond the lunar far side<\/a> and returns to Earth 4\u20136 weeks later.<\/p>\n Though it will have no human crew this time around, Artemis I\u2019s multiple CubeSats will perform a range of science experiments.<\/p>\n Should all go well, Artemis II will take a four-person crew to lunar orbit and back no earlier than 2024. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally, Artemis III aims to send astronauts to the lunar surface in 2025, with NASA vowing to put the first woman on the Moon and the first person of colour.<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond this are plans for building the Lunar Gateway, a staging post in lunar orbit that will enable humans to stay at the Moon for months at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n The Orion module will house future crews bound for the Moon and for deep space beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n Its manager <\/span>Debbie Korth<\/span> reveals how Artemis I will put the new spacecraft through its paces.<\/span><\/p>\n There are several big systems that we want to check out.\u00a0The Orion capsule has a 4.9m diameter heat shield \u2013 we need to see how that performs.<\/p>\n Orion will come back from the Moon at about 40,000km\/h and the heat shield will get to about 2,750\u02daC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another objective is our entry, descent and landing back on Earth. At around 480km\/h, the 11 parachutes start deploying.<\/p>\n When the capsule hits the water, it\u2019s got to be at 32km\/h or less. That whole sequence is a very orchestrated set of events we\u2019ll be testing.<\/p>\n Finally, there\u2019s the Crew Module Uprighting System, which deploys a series of bags and balloons [to keep Orion floating] until the recovery crew picks it up.<\/p>\n One of the biggest ones is the overall mass.<\/p>\n We\u2019re trying to build a spacecraft that\u2019s robust and can support four people for 21 days. But it\u2019s also got to be light enough that you can actually fly it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The other is distance. The Space Shuttle<\/a> and the International Space Station<\/a> went to low-Earth orbit a couple of hundred kilometres up.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going 385,000km to the Moon.<\/p>\n If you have a problem, coming home can take up to three days, so Orion has many redundant [back-up] systems.<\/p>\n Our Launch Abort System on top of the Orion capsule is also quite unique.\u00a0If there\u2019s a problem during the launch, it can pull the spacecraft off immediately.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot more safety-critical redundancy built into this vehicle than in the past.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/nasa-artemis-i-mission-moon-e48565e-e1661432500632.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C349"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How will Artemis I test the Orion crew and service module?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What are the challenges with Orion, compared with past vehicles?<\/b><\/h3>\n