Photo: Lockheed Martin
The last few weeks have been filled with news of NASA’s Space Launch System, as the rocket is undergoing the final testing stages before lifting off later this year in its first official mission. The goal of the mission, and by extension, the goal of the rocket, is to take the Orion capsule beyond Earth’s gravity well.
Orion is, in fact, a spaceship meant to carry the new generation of astronauts to the Moon, and in the not so distant future, to Mars. It was developed by Lockheed Martin (the crew module, crew module adaptor, and launch abort system) and the European Space Agency – ESA (the Service Module).
Both Orion and its SLS carrier rocket are the hardware backing the Artemis program. It calls for three missions in the immediate future: the Artemis I uncrewed trip to the Moon and back later this year, the Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon and back in 2023, and Artemis III, the one to actually put humans back on the surface of the satellite in 2024.
At the end of last week, Lockheed Martin announced the Orion spaceship for the Artemis I mission is ready to go, and it handed control over it to the NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team, who will handle final preparations on the spacecraft.
"Orion is a unique and impressive spacecraft and the team did an outstanding job to get us to this day," said in a statement Mike Hawes, Orion vice president and program manager for Lockheed Martin.
"The launch and flight of Artemis I will be an impressive sight, but more importantly it will confirm Orion is ready to safely carry humans to the Moon and back home. This tremendous advancement opens the door to a new era of deep space exploration that will ultimately benefit us back here on Earth."
The launch date for Artemis I has not yet been set.
Both Orion and its SLS carrier rocket are the hardware backing the Artemis program. It calls for three missions in the immediate future: the Artemis I uncrewed trip to the Moon and back later this year, the Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon and back in 2023, and Artemis III, the one to actually put humans back on the surface of the satellite in 2024.
At the end of last week, Lockheed Martin announced the Orion spaceship for the Artemis I mission is ready to go, and it handed control over it to the NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team, who will handle final preparations on the spacecraft.
"Orion is a unique and impressive spacecraft and the team did an outstanding job to get us to this day," said in a statement Mike Hawes, Orion vice president and program manager for Lockheed Martin.
"The launch and flight of Artemis I will be an impressive sight, but more importantly it will confirm Orion is ready to safely carry humans to the Moon and back home. This tremendous advancement opens the door to a new era of deep space exploration that will ultimately benefit us back here on Earth."
The launch date for Artemis I has not yet been set.
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