NASA’s Artemis I mission will help get humans back onto the Moon and step foot on Mars

If it’s successful…

Assuming Artemis I proves successful, this year’s mission will be followed up by Artemis II in around May 2024, which will carry a four-person crew more than 5,523 miles beyond the Moon — further than any human has ever been from the Earth — on an 8 to 10 day flight test.

Building on this, no earlier than 2025, the Artemis III mission will see four astronauts travel in an Orion capsule to the planned Lunar Gateway space station in the Moon’s orbit, spending a total of 30 days in space. Two of these explorers — including the first woman and person of colour to walk on the Moon — will be carried down to the lunar surface by the Gateway’s “human landing system”.

They will spend a week exploring the surface of the Moon’s South Pole — a region previously unvisited by humans — conducting various experiments including the sampling of the water ice that was first detected on the lunar surface back in 1971.

Alongside launching the Artemis programme proper, Wednesday’s launch will also see the SLS blast off with ten cubesats — box-shaped miniature satellites with 3.9-inch-long faces — as part of its cargo, each with their scientific missions of their own.

DON’T MISS:
Germany sends Putin huge warning and unveils new ‘panther’ tank [REPORT]
Ukraine sent US air defence systems to annihilate Putin’s missiles [ANALYSIS]
Octopus Energy shares boiler hack saving customers £112 a year [INSIGHT]

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1696452/nasa-artemis-I-mission-why-important-how-help-return-humans-moon