In the world of space science, the most discussed topic of the last two weeks has been Artemis - more specifically, Artemis II. On 1 April, at 6:45 p.m. in Florida, United States, Artemis II set out for space. Under a sky filled with full-moon light and before the curiosity-filled eyes of millions of people, Artemis II, the lunar goddess of modern science, flew straight into the sky. Since then, not only those interested in science, but even many who normally show little interest, have watched with curiosity
what four human beings are doing as they travel beyond Earth in a small spacecraft, going very close to the Moon.Thanks to modern
technology, interested people can observe the astronauts' activities almost
moment by moment. For this purpose, the American space agency NASA has created
the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) and apps. As I write this line, four
days, seven hours, and forty-five minutes of the Artemis mission have elapsed.
At this moment the Artemis II spacecraft Orion is travelling at 1,324 miles
(2,131 kilometres) per hour. Its present distance from Earth is 234,840 miles
(377,938 kilometres), and it is only 36,551 miles (58,810 kilometres) from the
Moon. By the time the readers of Biggan Chinta read this article, the Artemis
II mission will have ended, the four lunar voyagers will have returned safely
to Earth, and Artemis II will have created many new milestones.
Let us now turn
to the origins of Artemis, the new mission to return to the Moon after half a
century. The relationship between the Moon and the people of Earth is eternal.
For four and a half billion years, sunlight has been falling on the Moon and
coming to Earth. Yet humans appeared on Earth only about three hundred thousand
years ago. From the time human beings first learned to open their eyes and look
at the sky, they have seen the Sun giving light during the day and the Moon at
night. Even our knowledge that the Moon is Earth's only moon is not very old.
Long before astronomy, the gods and goddesses of the Moon and the Sun had
captured the human imagination. In the folk cultures of every country, hundreds
of stories about the Moon and the Sun circulate. In Greek folklore, Apollo and
Artemis are twin siblings: Apollo is the god of the Sun, and Artemis is the
goddess of the Moon. The names Apollo and Artemis are deeply associated with
humanity's journey to the Moon.
Half a century
ago, the project for sending humans to the Moon was called Apollo. A total of
seventeen missions were conducted under the Apollo programme. During the launch
of the first mission, Apollo 1, three astronauts - Gus Grissom, Ed White, and
Roger Chaffee - were burned to death in a fire. After that, from Apollo 2 to
Apollo 10, nine missions were carried out to make the path safe for astronauts
to land on the Moon. Apollo 11 was the first mission to land successfully on
the Moon. Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on 20 July 1969. Neil Armstrong and
Edwin Aldrin stepped onto the Moon. Humanity's first step on the Moon was a
giant leap in the advancement of science. In November of that same year, Apollo
12 reached the Moon. Charles Conrad and Alan Bean landed on the lunar surface.
In 1970, Apollo 13 set out for the Moon, but because of mechanical problems it
could not reach it. However, Apollo 13 travelled farther from Earth than any
previous human mission. For the last 56 years, that remained the record for the
greatest distance reached by human beings from Earth. This time Artemis II is
going beyond even that record distance. Apollo 14 reached the Moon on 5
February 1971. Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed on the Moon. Five months
later, in July, Apollo 15 reached the Moon, and David Scott and James Irwin
landed there. In April 1972, Apollo 16 reached the Moon. John Young and Charles
Duke landed on the lunar surface. Apollo 17 was the last mission in which human
beings went to the Moon. On 11 November 1972, Eugene Cernan and Harrison
Schmitt landed on the Moon. That time they spent three days, two hours, and
fifty-nine minutes on the lunar surface. Since then, 54 long years have passed,
and humans have not again set foot on the Moon. The travellers of Artemis II
are not landing on the Moon on this journey either. This time they will only go
close and observe, in preparation for landing properly next time.
Although Apollo
and Artemis are twin siblings, the Apollo mission and the Artemis mission are
not identical. Apollo was essentially a mission to go to the Moon. After six
successful visits, that mission had achieved its goal. Artemis is not only a
mission to go to the Moon; it is also a mission to stay there. Its aims are far
more extensive. The Artemis mission also includes the objective of establishing
permanent space stations in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface. Around those
space stations, the next project to send humans to Mars will be built.
The Main Objectives of the Artemis
Mission
Equality,
technology, partnership, sustainability, knowledge, and resources - these are
the six main objectives of the Artemis mission.
(1) Equality:
One of the principal aims of this mission is to conduct space exploration
without discrimination and to create equal opportunities for everyone - women
and men, Black and white. Between 1969 and 1972, eighteen astronauts went to
lunar orbit in six missions, and twelve of them landed on the Moon. Every one
of them was a white man. As a first step toward removing gender and racial
inequality among astronauts in the Artemis missions, for the first time a woman
and a non-white male astronaut have been given the opportunity to take part.
The four astronauts of Artemis II are Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor
Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2
Jeremy Hansen. Victor Glover is the first non-white astronaut, and Christina
Koch the first woman astronaut, to be lunar voyagers.
(2) Technology:
The second objective of the Artemis mission is the advancement of technology.
When humans first went to the Moon in 1969, computer technology was extremely
limited. Far from having modern computers in everyone's hands as we do today,
most ordinary people had not even heard the word computer. The lunar module
Eagle, which first landed on the Moon, had a computer memory of only 74
kilobytes. Today, even children's electronic toys often have more memory than
that. It is therefore natural that present and future lunar missions will be
far more advanced technologically than the Moon missions of 1969-72. For the
Artemis mission, everything from rockets to spacesuits has been built using the
most modern technology, and these technologies are continually being improved.
They will be useful for future journeys into even deeper space.
(3) Partnership:
This time NASA, the American space agency, is conducting the mission in
partnership not only with the space agencies of other countries but also with
private commercial organisations such as SpaceX and Boeing. Among the first
four astronauts, one, Jeremy Hansen, is an astronaut of the Canadian Space
Agency. Not only that, the Artemis Accords have been signed with the aim of
working jointly with other countries of the world through international
cooperation. I discuss this in the next section.
(4)
Sustainability: The duration of the Artemis mission will be much longer than
that of the Apollo mission. The astronauts of Apollo 17 stayed on the Moon for
a maximum of three days. In the Artemis missions to the Moon, astronauts are
planned to remain on the lunar surface for more than a week. In later Artemis
missions, when the Lunar Gateway station is established in an orbit balanced by
the gravitational pull of the Moon and Earth, there are plans for astronauts to
stay around the Moon for up to three months.
(5) New
knowledge: In the fifty years after the Apollo missions, science and technology
have advanced greatly. With the help of this advanced technology, the
astronauts of the Artemis mission will be able to discover many unknown facts
about the Moon that could not be learned before. The astronauts of Artemis II
will spend considerable time observing the far side of the Moon, which cannot
be seen from Earth. If water is found on this side of the Moon, it will be
useful for future lunar voyagers, and it may also be possible to make
spacecraft fuel from the oxygen and hydrogen in water. This mission will not be
limited to the Moon alone. Future Artemis missions will extend from the Moon to
Mars.
(6) Lunar
resources: There is a possibility of finding water and other rare mineral
resources on the Moon. This mission will be able to connect that possibility
with practical reality. By using these resources, the possibility of building a
permanent space station on the Moon and conducting future space missions from
there will increase.
The Artemis Accords
The first phase
of humanity's mission to the Moon succeeded mainly because of the Cold War
between the United States and the then Soviet Union. The intense competition in
scientific and technological capability between the United States and the
Soviet Union led to enormous progress in space technology. But space
exploration is extremely expensive. It is not always possible for a single
country to meet this cost from state funds alone. When it is done through
international cooperation, competition also becomes healthier and more cordial.
The Artemis Accords were created to give the Artemis missions an international
form, with the aim of conducting missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planets
and satellites, and of ensuring peaceful scientific exploration and the use of
space.
The main
conditions of the Artemis Accords are as follows:
(1) Peaceful use
of outer space: Space will be used only for peaceful purposes. No country will
place weapons in space, and space will not be used for war.
(2)
Transparency: All countries will provide open information about their space
missions, plans, and activities so that there is no room for misunderstanding.
(3)
Interoperability: There will be opportunities for countries to use one
another's space infrastructure and technology. This includes fuel storage and
supply systems, landing infrastructure, communication systems, and power-supply
systems.
(4) Emergency
assistance: If any astronaut or spacecraft is in danger in space, all countries
will help, regardless of which country the astronaut or spacecraft belongs to.
(5) Registration
of space objects: All satellites, rockets, and spacecraft sent into space will
be registered internationally.
(6) Sharing of
information and scientific data: Scientific information and data obtained from
space research will be shared with all countries so that science and technology
can advance rapidly.
(7) Protection
of historic heritage in space: Historic sites and artefacts established in
space will be preserved. For example, the landing sites of the Apollo missions
on the Moon will be preserved as historic heritage.
(8) Use of space
resources: Water, minerals, and fuel may be collected from the Moon or
asteroids, but this must be done according to international rules. This is
important for the establishment of future settlements in space; therefore,
space resources must not be misused.
(9) Safety
zones: If a country works on the Moon or on another planet, it may designate
the work area as a safety zone so that other countries do not accidentally
enter it and create problems. Before all space activities begin, detailed plans
must be announced in advance, and they must be carried out in accordance with
the United Nations' space guidelines.
(10) Reduction
of space debris: Effective measures must be taken to reduce space debris and to
remove inactive satellites or equipment safely.
On 13 October
2020, the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the
United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates signed the Artemis Accords.
Gradually, other countries also began to sign the agreement. So far, 61
countries have signed the Artemis II agreement. Bangladesh signed the agreement
on 8 April 2025. In that sense, we too have a principled partnership in the
Artemis missions and have full rights to use their information and data.
Fifty years ago,
the Apollo missions were in competition with the missions of the Soviet Union.
At that time the Soviet Union never reached the Moon. At present, China has not
signed the Artemis Accords. It is believed that there will be strong competition
with China in lunar exploration.
To conduct the
Artemis missions, the most modern Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the
Orion spacecraft have been built. These have given the Artemis mission far
greater capability and precision than the Apollo mission. I will discuss the
Orion spacecraft shortly. Before that, let me say a few words about the Artemis
missions.
The Artemis Missions
NASA has so far
announced plans for five Artemis missions. The Artemis I project, a preliminary
preparatory mission, was completed in November 2022. The Artemis II project is
now under way. Artemis III, IV, and V will be completed within the next few years.
I discuss the main objectives of these projects here so that the continuity of
Artemis can be understood more easily.
Artemis I
The Artemis I
mission ran from 16 November to 11 December 2022. In this mission, NASA
successfully completed an uncrewed test flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion
spacecraft. For the first time, rocket launch operations were tested using the
new Exploration Ground Systems, and the different systems of the Orion
spacecraft were tested. Artemis I was a very important rehearsal for Artemis
II. Because astronauts were not aboard the spacecraft in that mission, it did
not include astronauts or the important life-support systems planned for later
missions.
Artemis II
This too is a
test flight to the Moon, and it is the first flight with astronauts aboard the
SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. After a successful wet dress rehearsal last
February, NASA identified a problem with helium flow in the Interim Cryogenic
Propulsion Stage, and the rocket and spacecraft were returned to the Vehicle
Assembly Building for repair. Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
solved the problem fairly quickly. During the return to Earth from space in the
Artemis I mission, some problems had appeared in the heat-protection system of
Orion's crew module. Those problems were also solved before the start of the
Artemis II mission. The Artemis II mission is running from 1 to 10 April.
Artemis III
In mid-2027,
NASA has added a new demonstration mission in low Earth orbit, in which one or
both of the commercial landers of SpaceX and Blue Origin will be tested. In
this mission too, astronauts will be launched in the Orion spacecraft by the
SLS rocket, and the docking capability between Orion and private spacecraft
will be tested. This will be necessary for future astronaut landings on the
Moon.
Artemis IV
In early 2028,
Artemis IV is targeted as the mission for the first lunar landing by
astronauts. After launch, the astronauts will transfer from Orion to a
commercial Moon lander and travel to the lunar surface in it. Which lander will
be used will depend on which company's lander is ready. Later, they will return
to Orion and come back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean.
Artemis V
In late 2028,
astronauts will again go to the Moon in this mission. From then on, the target
is to conduct one lunar landing mission every year. NASA hopes that from this
mission onward it will be possible to begin building a permanent base on the
Moon. There is, for now, no doubt that the Artemis mission will be much more
enduring.
Now let us look
at the ongoing Artemis II mission from beginning to end.
 |
| Spacecraft Orion |
The Spacecraft
The most
important part of the Artemis II mission is its spacecraft - Orion. The
world-famous spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin has built this highly
advanced spacecraft. So far, Orion is the most modern spacecraft on Earth. It
has carried the astronauts of the lunar mission into deep space and will bring
them safely back to Earth. It is protecting the astronauts from radiation in
space. During the return to Earth, it will also protect them from the
unbearable heat produced by the intense collision with Earth's atmosphere.
Orion has three
main parts: the launch abort system, the crew module, and the service module.
The total length of the three parts is 67 feet. When mounted on the Space
Launch System rocket, its height is 322 feet. Orion has been built from 355,056
components of 77,150 different types.
In space, the
safety system for astronauts must be flawless. During the first lunar mission,
the tragic death of the three Apollo 1 astronauts occurred. To ensure that such
an accident does not happen again, Orion has been equipped with a watertight
safety arrangement. This system is called the launch abort system. During
launch with the help of the Space Launch System rocket, this 50-foot-long
launch abort system is attached in front of Orion's crew module. The system has
two parts: the fairing assembly and the launch abort tower. The fairing
assembly is a chamber made of light composite material that protects Orion from
the heat, wind, and sound produced during launch. The launch abort tower
contains three extremely powerful mechanical motors that can generate nearly
400,000 pounds of thrust. If, during launch, a mechanical fault or any other
reason creates a possibility that astronaut safety may be compromised, the
motors of the launch abort system ignite, separate the crew module containing
the astronauts from Orion, and carry it away to a safe place within a fraction
of a second. The launch abort system can accelerate from zero to 800 kilometres
per hour within two seconds. By contrast, a Boeing 747 aircraft takes at least
ten seconds to accelerate from zero to 360 kilometres per hour. If no accident
occurs and the launch proceeds properly, Orion's launch abort system has no
further role. In that case, there is no point carrying this 50-metre-long
component into space unnecessarily. When there is no longer any possibility of
danger, the launch abort system separates from Orion. Then the Space Launch
System rocket continues toward the Moon with Orion's crew module and service
module.
Orion's crew
module is the astronauts' living quarters during the mission. In this
cone-shaped space, eleven feet high and sixteen and a half feet in diameter,
there is room for four astronauts to live. From launch, through the journey
from Earth to the Moon, and then back to Earth, four astronauts can live
comfortably here and perform the necessary work for up to twenty-one days. The
four astronauts of Artemis II will stay here for ten days.
Although the
crew module and the service module travel together from Earth to the Moon,
during the return to Earth only the crew module will come back with the
astronauts. Inside the crew module, an environment suitable for human
habitation has been created. Temperature, air pressure, humidity, oxygen level,
carbon dioxide level, and related conditions are maintained at healthy levels.
From the cockpit, with its clear, strong-glass windows, the astronauts can
control everything in Orion. The walls of the crew module are made in such a
way that radioactive radiation from space cannot enter the module. During the
mission, this module becomes the astronauts' home. Here they have arrangements
for eating and dressing, and here too are arrangements for using the toilet in
weightlessness. Astronauts must exercise regularly to remain healthy. This
module also provides that facility.
The service
module is attached below the crew module. Because the European Space Agency has
provided all the systems for this module, this Orion module is called the
European Service Module. The service module is the powerhouse of the
spacecraft. Here electricity is produced from solar panels; here too are the
engines and thrusters. Orion's service module is 15.7 feet long and 16.5 feet
in diameter, with a mass of 34,400 pounds. It has one engine capable of
producing 6,000 pounds of thrust, and this is used to control Orion. To assist
this main engine there are eight auxiliary engines, each of which can produce
110 pounds of thrust. To handle motion and reaction control, there are another
twenty-four small engines, each capable of producing 50 pounds of thrust. For
generating solar electricity, there are four solar panels made up of 15,000
solar cells; when unfolded, they are 62 feet long. These panels can produce
eleven kilowatts of electrical power.
The 10-Day Journey
From Launch Pad
39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 6:35 p.m. on 1 April, the
Artemis II Space Launch System rocket rose into the sky through the opposing
reaction to a thrust of nearly forty crore newtons. Only two minutes later,
when the rocket reached an altitude of about 47 kilometres, the solid rocket
boosters exhausted their fuel and separated. After that, the four engines of
the core stage carried the SLS forward for another six minutes; then their fuel
too was exhausted and they separated. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage
(ICPS), the second stage of the SLS, gave the final push and delivered Orion
into space. Within less than 10 minutes of engine ignition, Artemis II entered
an elliptical orbit, with a perigee, or closest point to Earth, of 185
kilometres and an apogee, or farthest point, of 2,250 kilometres.
 |
| 10 day mission Artemis II |
Travelling at
more than 28,500 kilometres per hour, the spacecraft completed one full
elliptical orbit around Earth in only 90 minutes. Then the ICPS ignited again
and raised Artemis II's orbit to 2,400 kilometres by 74,000 kilometres - with
the highest point taking the spacecraft about one-sixth of the way toward the
Moon. This is a huge orbit around Earth, and about 24 hours after launch the
astronauts took their next major step. The ICPS was separated, and using
Orion's small onboard engines, the spacecraft applied translunar injection
(TLI) and was pushed toward the Moon. At this stage, to escape Earth's gravity,
Orion had to acquire a speed of almost forty thousand kilometres per hour.
If Orion could
have maintained that speed, it could have reached the Moon in only 8 hours. But
going from Earth into space is like climbing a high mountain: Earth's gravity
pulls the spacecraft backward and reduces its speed until it falls to about
5,500 kilometres per hour. When Orion reaches a point about 66,000 kilometres
from the Moon and about 322,000 kilometres from Earth, the Moon's gravity
becomes stronger than Earth's gravity. The Moon then begins to pull Orion
toward itself. Finally, on the sixth day of the mission, Orion will reach the
vicinity of the Moon and fly past the Moon's western hemisphere, passing about
6,400 kilometres above the lunar surface.
Here physics
plays a life-saving role. The translunar injector keeps the spacecraft's speed
slightly below escape velocity, close to 39,000 kilometres per hour. If the
speed were 40,000 kilometres per hour or more, the spacecraft could reach the
Moon quickly; but if, for any reason, the guidance system did not work or the
engine failed to ignite, there would be no way for the astronauts to return to
Earth. At a speed slightly below escape velocity, Earth's gravity still has
some influence on the spacecraft. As a result, if the guidance system fails or
the engine does not start, the spacecraft will remain on a free-return
trajectory. The Moon's gravity will swing it around the far side of the Moon
and send it directly back toward Earth. But if the speed is 40,000 kilometres
per hour or more, the spacecraft will leave this path, and even if it turns
back toward Earth, its excessive speed may cause it to be flung out of Earth's
orbit and lost in space. At this controlled speed, while turning around the far
side of the Moon, Artemis II will set a new record for the greatest human
distance from Earth. Apollo 13 went as far as 254 kilometres behind the Moon.
Artemis II will pass 7,500 kilometres behind the Moon.
The Artemis
astronauts will observe the side of the Moon that cannot be seen from Earth.
Then will come the return to Earth. It will take more than ninety-six hours for
Artemis II to return to Earth. According to American time, Artemis II will
return to Earth on 10 April.
Every second of
the ten-day mission has been planned for the four astronauts. Sleep, exercise,
and health protection are the most urgent priorities. They have practised many
times in the simulation module, long before the start of the mission, what each
person's responsibility will be in operating the spacecraft and who will do
what and when. People on Earth have had the opportunity to watch many of the
Artemis II astronauts' activities live.
During the
return to Earth, only the crew module, carrying the four astronauts, will enter
Earth's orbit and pass into the atmosphere. The spacecraft's speed during the
return to Earth will be about forty thousand kilometres per hour, which is
extremely dangerous. Spacecraft in Earth orbit usually slow down gradually
before entering the atmosphere, but a spacecraft returning from the Moon enters
the atmosphere directly at a much higher speed. If it tries to come straight
down, the spacecraft may be damaged by the excessive heat and energy produced
by collision with Earth's atmosphere. If there were no humans in the
spacecraft, this risk might not require so much concern. But when astronauts
must be brought back safely to Earth, taking any such risk is impossible.
Therefore, when the spacecraft enters Earth's atmosphere, it uses a special
method. The spacecraft first enters the atmosphere, then rises back up into
space, then enters again - repeating this process several times to reduce its
speed and heat gradually. Finally, it will descend slowly into the sea near San
Diego.
The Scientific Achievements of Artemis
II
Artemis II is
not a lunar-landing mission; rather, it is an important test mission that takes
humans into deep space to test all the technology and life-support systems
needed for future lunar expeditions. During this nearly ten-day journey, the
astronauts first tested the spacecraft's life-support system - that is, they
checked whether oxygen, water, temperature control, carbon dioxide removal,
food, toilet facilities, and sleeping arrangements for the astronauts were
working properly. At the same time, they tested the spacecraft's navigation,
computers, communication systems, power supply, thrusters, and fuel systems, so
that before sending people to the Moon in the future NASA can be certain that
all systems are reliable.
Another
important aspect of this mission is measuring radiation in space. Once
astronauts travel beyond Earth's gravity and magnetic field, they face higher
levels of radiation. Therefore, in this mission, highly sensitive detectors
measured those radiation levels, producing data that will be very important for
future missions to the Moon and Mars. In addition, the astronauts practised
controlling the spacecraft manually, so that if the computer or automatic
systems fail, they can still fly the spacecraft safely. They also tested
long-distance communication with Earth, the delay in signals going back and
forth, data transmission, and related systems.
One of the
mission's important safety tests is the free-return trajectory, in which the
spacecraft travels toward the Moon along a path that will allow the Moon's
gravity to swing it back toward Earth if the engine shuts down for any reason.
In 1970, the Apollo 13 astronauts were able to return safely to Earth by using
this path. At the end of the mission, during the return to Earth, the
spacecraft's heat shield, atmospheric entry method (skip-entry), parachutes,
and ocean-landing systems were also tested.
Direct
observation of the Moon's far side is a special scientific objective of Artemis
II. The next lunar mission will be to the far side of the Moon, where no human
being has ever set foot.
Overall, the
main objective of the Artemis II mission - to take humans into deep space and
test the complete process of the spacecraft, life-support systems, safety
systems, communication, radiation monitoring, and safe return to Earth, so that
humans can be landed safely on the Moon in the future - has been successfully
accomplished. Now our wait begins for the third Artemis mission.
References
1.
nasa.gov/missions/artemis/
2. space.com
3. Biggan
Chinta, July 2023
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