WASHINGTON, May 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – NASA on Thursday unveiled the
calendar for the “Artemis” program that will return astronauts to the Moon
for the first time in half a century, including eight scheduled launches and
a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024.
The original lunar missions were named for Apollo — Artemis was his twin
sister in Greek mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness and the
Moon.
Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed that Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed
mission around the Moon planned for 2020.
Next will come Artemis 2, which will orbit Earth’s satellite with a crew
around 2022; followed finally by Artemis 3 that will put astronauts on lunar
soil in 2024, including the first woman.
The three will be launched into space by the biggest rocket of all time,
the Boeing-led Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently under
development but has seen numerous delays and has been criticized in some
quarters as a bloated jobs program.
Affixed to its summit will be the Orion capsule, for which Lockheed Martin
is the primary contractor.
In addition to these missions, which will be all NASA’s efforts, there
will be five launches carrying the building blocks of the lunar mini-station
“Gateway” which will serve as a staging point for the Moon landing.
These will be carried out between 2022 and 2024 by private space
companies, which NASA will pay for their services.
The orbital station will initially consist of a simple power and
propulsion element and a small habitat module. In 2024, astronauts will stop
there en route to the Moon.
They will then descend to the surface on a lander.
A part of the lander will remain on the Moon while the other part will
take off and allow the astronauts to return to their station, where they will
board the Orion capsule and return to Earth.
Bridenstine said Thursday that NASA had chosen private firm Maxar to build
the station’s first module, the power and propulsion element, which would
rely on huge solar panels.
In the coming months, NASA will have to decide on who will build the
lander. Aerospace giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are vying for the
contract as are new players like Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
“We’re not owning the hardware, we’re buying the service,” said
Bridenstine of the lander. “The goal here is speed. 2024 is right around the
corner.”
He added: “Our goal is ultimately to move on to Mars and not get stuck on
the surface of the Moon”