Space, although constantly studied is still a vastly unexplored territory. We have come so far from the initial days of just stepping on the moon to actually living on it. And yes, living on the moon could be a possibility, or so NASA says. Howard Hu said the Artemis 1 mission is 'the first step in the long-term exploration of deep space'.
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'I think this is a historic day for NASA'
In February, Howard Hu was appointed to lead Nasa's deep space exploration spacecraft. On Sunday (Nov 20), he spoke as the Artemis rocket headed to the Moon on its first unmanned mission. The 98-metre rocket, topped by the Orion spacecraft, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Wednesday 16 November2022 after a series of delays due to technical problems and hurricanes.
We powered down the #Artemis I @NASA_Orion spacecraft ahead of rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy. This was a great practice run for the Orion team. We'll be back on the pad soon! pic.twitter.com/Gp7cWgeSEV
— Howard Hu (@HowardHuNASA) April 22, 2022
The spacecraft carries three fully clothed mannequins, which will record the stresses and strains of the Artemis 1 mission. Howard Hu said:
It’s the first step we’re taking to long-term deep-space exploration, for not just the United States but for the world.
I think this is a historic day for Nasa, but it’s also a historic day for all the people who love human space flight and deep-space exploration. We are going back to the moon. We’re working towards a sustainable programme
Nasa's future plans
The spacecraft will come within 97 km of the Moon and continue to travel another 64,500 km before turning around and crashing into the Pacific Ocean on December 11. The spacecraft is expected to travel 1.3 million kilometres during the 25-day mission, the longest distance ever covered by a man-made spacecraft.
The success of the mission will pave the way for the subsequent Artemis 2 and 3 flights, which have plans to send humans around the Moon. The Artemis 3 mission, which may not be launched until 2026, is expected to return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17, 50 years ago. According to NASA's plans, this mission would allow the first woman to land on the Moon, and then the first person of colour to go there. A historic moment.
This article was translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
-The Guardian: Astronauts to live and work on the moon by 2030, Nasa official says
