Boffins want to relaunch the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface, and send four astronauts into space next year
Astronauts could be on the Moon as soon as 2027 after Nasa unveiled plans for the first crewed lunar mission in 50 years. The space agency hopes to send four astronauts on a ten day trip around the Moon as soon as February next year to test systems.
And if the trip is successful, it could see them launch another mission the following year to actually land on the Moon. Boffins want to relaunch the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.
They also hope the trip will help springboard missions to Mars. The US space agency said on social media: “Experts are discussing the latest on the Artemis II mission. Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the Moon next year, will prepare us for crewed missions to the lunar surface and future Martian missions.”
NASA had previously aimed for a launch by the end of April, but now hopes to bring the mission forward. Lakiesha Hawkins, Nasa’s acting deputy associate administrator said it would be an important moment in the human exploration of space.
She told a press conference on Tuesday: “We together have a front row seat to history. The launch window could open as early as the fifth of February, but we want to emphasize that safety is our top priority.”
Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the rocket built to carry astronauts, the Space Launch System (SLS), is “pretty much stacked and ready to go.” The final steps are completing the crew capsule, Orion, connecting it to the SLS, and finishing ground tests.
A Nasa spokesman said: “Following Artemis II, Orion and its crew will once again travel to the Moon, this time to make history when the next astronauts walk on the lunar surface during Artemis III.”
The first Artemis mission in November 2022 lasted 25 days and sent an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon before safely re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. While largely successful, it revealed heatshield issues during re-entry, which have since been resolved.
The Artemis II launch will see four astronauts go on a ten-day round trip to the Moon and back to the Earth. The astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, of Nasa and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency —will not land on the Moon, but they will be the first crew to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
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