O Artemis program is a space exploration program developed by NASA that will take humans once again to the surface of Earth. Moon. Consisting of three missions starting in 2022, the program aims to deepen research on our natural satellite and the Solar system, in addition to increasing the length of stay of astronauts in space as an important part of preparation for a next large-scale mission that has the planet Mars as its destination.
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Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about the Artemis program
- 2 - Objectives of the Artemis program
- 3 - Origin and history of the Artemis program
- 4 - Stages of the Artemis program
- 5 - Brazil and the Artemis program
- 6 - Importance of the Artemis program
Summary about the Artemis program
The Artemis program aims to send human beings to the Moon again, as well as to deepen the studies and exploration of the natural satellite and of the Solar System with the carrying out of long-term missions that foresee the longest human permanence in the space.
It also represents a test for a future manned mission in Mars, with the installation of an auxiliary base on the Moon.
It is considered the twin brother of apollo program, responsible for the first human being to step on the lunar surface in 1969. For this reason, the current program is named after the goddess Artemis, twin sister of the god Apollo in Greek mythology.
Artemis is derived from a project that began in 2004 but was canceled five years later due to high costs. Its resumption took place in 2017.
The first stage of Artemis will take place in 2022 and consists of an unmanned trip to lunar orbit.
The second stage of the program is scheduled for 2024 and aims to observe the functioning of the systems on a manned trip that will carry out a flyby on the Moon.
The third and final stage will be the longest and possibly continuous, with the return of humans to the surface of the Moon and expansion of studies regarding the satellite, with the possibility of exploring resources for the production of fuels for rockets.
Brazil is one of the signatory countries of the Artemis Agreement, which establishes the principles for peaceful and sustainable space exploration.
With the Artemis program, it will be the first time that a woman and a black person will step on the lunar surface.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
Objectives of the Artemis program
The Artemis program, developed by NASA with the partnership of private companies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, intend to send human beings back to the surface of the Moon, repeating the feat that happened more than half a century ago, more precisely in the years 1969 and 1972. This time, the intention is that the first woman and the first black person walk through the natural satellite, who make up a more diverse team than the previous ones. However, this is an intermediate step, which will enable the main objective of the Artemis program.
According to NASA information, the program has two general objectives. The first of these is that of advance in exploration and space science discoveries, aiming to better understand the origin and history of our planet, the Moon and the Solar System. For this, NASA intends to establish a fixed base on the satellite, with facilities for work and temporary housing for astronauts, where human presence will be recurrent.
The second objective of the Artemis program, and perhaps the main one, is that the experience gained with the use of new technologies and skills developed in the new mission to the Moon represent a test for exploration in Mars, in view of NASA's intention to send astronauts to the planet in the 2030s. In this project, Lua will play the role of auxiliary base.
Check it out on our podcast:What do you need to survive on Mars?
Origin and history of the Artemis program
The Artemis program is described as O brother twin from the Apollo program, which was in force between 1961 and 1972 and carried out several missions in orbit and on the lunar surface. The Apollo program is best known for being responsible for the first human being to set foot on Moon, which happened on July 20, 1969.
Due to the similarities with the Apollo program, the current lunar exploration program was named Artemis, revealed in 2019. At Greek mythology, the goddess of hunting and wildlife Artemis was the twin sister of the god Apollo, considered a sun god.
In the early 2000s, the U.S presented the Vision for Space Exploration program, signed by the president at the time, George W. bush. One of the proposals was precisely to send astronauts back to Moon and use the experiences as a starting point for carrying out manned missions to Mars.
The Constellation program, as it became known, provided for the construction of the Ares I and Ares II vehicles along with the Orion spacecraft and the lunar module, and its beginning should have taken place in 2011. However, the costs were high and there were not enough conditions for its maintenance in the national budget, which led to its cancellation in 2009 by the president Barack Obama.|1|
A Nowingresumed his task to develop new activities that would promote the return of human beings to the surface of the Moon from 2017, when the then American president donald trump signed Space Policy Directive 1. The document authorized the carrying out of new manned and long-term missions for lunar exploration, also establishing other exploratory trips to planets such as Mars.
Two years later, in 2019, the US vice president, Mike Pence, established the year 2024 as the limit for the arrival of human beings at the south pole of the Moon, which is the region through which NASA intends to start its manned mission.
Until now, the agency estimates that the Artemis program will cost 93 billion dollars. 11 US private technology companies work together with NASA and are working on the development of equipment such as landers and landing modules, in addition to nine other companies responsible for lunar robots that will collect of data in loco. Many of these companies intend to develop economic activities on the Moon, with the potential exploitation of natural resources for the production of rocket fuel. This fuel would be used in future missions, such as to Mars.
Artemis program steps
The Artemis program consists of three stages (or missions), which we describe below.
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Artemis I: the first mission of the Artemis program will be unmanned and will be put into practice in 2022, with a duration of 42 days. Its objective is to promote an equipment test, verifying the capacity of the Space Launch System vehicle (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft to reach lunar orbit and return safely to Earth. Ten small satellites will be sent along this route for initial investigations.
The SLS is a 98-meter-long rocket capable of carrying, in a single mission, the Orion capsule, astronauts and cargo. Orion, in turn, has the capacity to transport four people and will be responsible for sending the rocket crew to the lunar surface.
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Artemis II: the second mission of the Artemis program is scheduled for 2024. Planned to last ten days, the purpose of this stage is to transport crew members for a flyby of the Moon. With this, it will be possible to evaluate the way in which the vehicles and their respective systems act on the trip and guarantee the safety of future missions.
It is the farthest journey ever made by humans in deep space, as the journey includes a complete trip around the Moon and the passage through its so-called dark side.
Artemis III: the third stage of the program is expected to start in 2025 and should be a continuous mission. One of its goals is to place humans once again on the surface of the Moon. In addition, Artemis III aims at recurrent exploration of the satellite and gaining experience for the development of longer and more distant missions, such as the one that will take a crew to the planet Mars.
Read too: Facts that prove the arrival of man on the Moon
Brazil and the Artemis program
Led by the United States, the Artemis program relies on the cooperation of a group of 20 countries, of which Brazil is a member. In June 2021, the country became a signatory to the document known as the Artemis Agreement, which establishes a set of principles for the rational, sustainable and peaceful exploration of space.
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI) and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) foresee a technical and scientific collaboration, with the sharing of information and technologies, such as robotic equipment, aimed at improving space research Brazilian.|2||3|
Importance of the Artemis program
The Artemis program represents the beginning of an important phase of exploration spatial, with the realization of more distant and lasting manned missions. As pointed out by NASA, the program will expand the scope of space research initially on the Moon and then on other celestial bodies, including planets hitherto achieved with the aid of robotic probes, such as Mars, opening up scope for the exploitation of natural resources and the long-term installation of human beings.
The importance of the Artemis program extends to what NASA calls the Artemis Generation, who are future scientists inspired by current work. The agency believes that selecting a much more diverse team, in terms of gender and ethnicity, to work on Artemis missions will encourage thousands of children and young people who are interested in the space theme to see themselves represented in those professionals and pursue a career as scientists, generating major future contributions to the exploration of our Solar System and beyond.
Grades
|1| NOGUEIRA, Salvador. Get to know the origin of the Artemis mission, to take humans back to the Moon. Folha de S.Paulo, 28 Aug. 2022. Available here.
|2| CORREIA, Flavia. Back to the Moon: find out how Brazil can participate in the Artemis Program. Digital Look, 26 Aug. 2022. Available here.
|3| GNIPER, Patricia. EXCLUSIVE! What will Brazil do in the Artemis Program? President of AEB tells everything. Tech Channel, 18 June. 2021. Available here.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
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