NASA has offered details about the Artemis mission; its on-going crewed spaceflight program which aims to return humans to the moon by 2024. The Agency has provided clarity about the infrastructure that will sustain humans on the lunar surface and enable them to conduct longer-term science missions.
The Artemis mission is also where the agency will demonstrate the key elements needed for the first human mission to Mars. The aim, as regards to the infrastructure, will remain ensuring mobility across the lunar surface and sustenance to ensure that research work is conducted. To ensure both, the Agency has decided to focus on three core components of the infrastructure it plans to erect.
For competent means of mobility on the surface, a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) will be used by the crew to make short trips around the landing zone. The piloted rover will not have an enclosed cockpit, so astronauts will be wearing full protective extra-vehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits.
While lunar terrain vehicles will be used for shorter trips, a habitable mobility platform will enable longer trips. Fully contained and pressurised, trips further afield using this rover could last up to 45 days.
Robotic rovers, an important component of the mission will have instruments in order to generate information on the availability and extraction of resources such as oxygen and water. Finding ways to extract these resources will aid the production of drinking water, fuel and oxygen enabling sustenance through service operations and lesser supplies from earth. These will also help gather information for research.
A lunar foundation surface habitat which can house up to 4 people will act as a more, fixed permanent location home for the crew for shorter service days.
The plan also calls for a gateway in the lunar orbit. The orbiting outpost will serve as a command-and-control centre for surface expeditions. It will serve as an office and home for the crew not engaged in active surface exploration and research. The gateway space station will feature enhanced habitation capabilities and life-support related advancements. Much like the International Space Station, its design will be scaled up over time, adding new models to support more crew and work and experimentation space. The goal remains testing capabilities on the lunar surface for future long-term deep-space missions. The tested components will pioneer research and enhancements related to the Mars mission.
In the insights offered, the Agency has also included details of the Mars mission. This includes how it will send a four-person crew to the Gateway Space Station for a multi-month stay to simulate the planned departure to and return from mars. This endeavour, if successful will in addition to offering clarity on the mission to mars, mark the longest continuous human stay in the deep space environs.
The agency has released a full “Plan for Lunar Exploration and Development” offering granular details of the mission. This includes an overview of the mission including early and late stages, specific goals, future plans after 2024 and also mentions the Mars mission.
The Artemis mission has been appearing to be a long shot due to the long history of cost overruns and continuous delays. Although the goals of the program may remain the same, the targets may be subjected to more delay as an impact of the global crisis due to the covid-19 pandemic.
