Artemis program

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Artemis program logo

The Artemis program is a space project of the current United States government and NASA . The aim of the program is to land astronauts on the moonTemplate: future / in 4 years for the first time since Apollo 17 in 2024 , including a woman for the first time. The project was initiated in March 2019 by US President Donald Trump . In reference to the Apollo program , it was named in May 2019 after Artemis , the moon goddess and twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology . Funding for the program has only been partially secured.

background

Artist's impression of the lunar module (left) and space capsule of the Constellation program
Artist's impression of an SLS launch

Since Eugene Cernan was the last person to leave the surface of the moon on December 14, 1972, there have been repeated efforts in the USA to return to the moon. President George W. Bush announced the first concrete plans for this in 2004 with the Constellation program . It provided for manned moon landings from 2020 at the latest; then manned flights to Mars should follow.

Under Bush's successor, Barack Obama , the Constellation program was discontinued in 2009 because of escalating costs. Two years later, the SLS program was launched as a replacement - also for the space shuttle program that was discontinued in 2011 . This provided for manned orbits around the moon and flights to other objects in the solar system , but no landings. Here too, the plan was exceeded again, in particular due to mismanagement in the Boeing group, the manufacturer of the SLS rocket. The first flight planned for 2017 did not take place.

In the meantime, Donald Trump had been elected President and initiated another shift in US space policy. Trump wanted breakthrough successes during his presidency. After finding out that a manned flight to Mars is not feasible even until a possible second term expires in 2024, he issued the Executive Order Space Policy Directive 1 . In doing so, he instructed NASA to focus on an early moon landing, followed by missions to Mars and “maybe one day to many worlds beyond”. At the beginning of 2019, NASA postponed the date for the now planned moon landing to 2028 because the problems with the SLS development persisted. Then Vice President Mike Pence took the initiative and demanded that NASA, on behalf of Trump, land US astronauts at the South Pole of the moon by 2024. If this was not feasible with the “existing contractors” (such as Boeing), then new ones would have to be found .

The Shackleton crater at the southern lunar pole (center) - a frequently mentioned exploration destination

The South Pole region has been considered strategically important since water ice was detected there . It is the only area on the moon in which, on the one hand, sunlight is available all year round (e.g. for solar energy production ) and, on the other hand, deep craters can be found, on the bottom of which there is never direct sunlight, which could dissolve ice deposits. Water is not only necessary for the sustaining of life, it can also be made into fuel . Various other countries such as China and Russia are therefore already planning an - initially unmanned - exploration of the South Pole. China wants to set up a research station there in the 2030s .

In May 2020, NASA announced the Artemis Accords as the legal framework for access to the moon . With this, the USA would like - building on the space treaty of 1967 - to establish its own interests for further exploration of the moon and Mars. In particular, companies should be allowed to exploit space resources. NASA expects international participants in the Artemis program to conclude appropriate agreements with the United States. The focus of the Artemis Accords on the interests of the USA and its partners met with criticism.

financing

In order to finance the first preparations for the early moon landing, Trump applied for an increase of the NASA budget for the fiscal year 2020 by 1.6 billion US dollars based on calculations by NASA . This amount should be taken from reserves of the Pell Grant program for low-income students. The US legislature approved only part of the required amount and at the same time expanded the Pell Grant funding. For the next four years, the US government demanded a budget increase totaling $ 35 billion.

Technical components

Orion spaceship approaching the LOP-G

The Artemis program is based on four technical units, the concept of which comes mainly from earlier US lunar programs.

  • The SLS super heavy- duty missile has been officially developed since 2011, but - like the Ares missile from the discontinued Constellation program - is based on components of the space shuttle system. It should initially be able to bring up to 26 tons of payload on the way to the moon. It is uncertain whether an originally planned expansion to 45 tons will be realized.
  • The Orion spaceship was transferred from the Constellation program to the Artemis program via the SLS program. It is designed for a crew of up to four astronauts. Orion consists of a space capsule built by Lockheed Martin and the “ European service module ”, a drive and supply unit manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space in Bremen . The overall system is so heavy that it can only be transported with the SLS.
  • The LOP-G ( Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway ) has been planned since 2017. It is a modular space station that is to be placed in a complicated orbit around the moon. From there both moon landings and later flights to Mars are to take place. In addition, the LOP-G will serve as a control center for the control of robotic missions on the lunar surface. The station should only be inhabited temporarily. It is supported by an international cooperation between the ISS participating states. Since it is not certain whether the LOP-G will be ready for use by 2024, its use is only planned for later Artemis missions.
  • There are three designs for the lunar module , of which NASA would like to select two for implementation in 2021. The most complex design comes from a consortium led by Blue Origin ; it provides a three-part system consisting of a descent and ascent module (as in the Apollo lander ) and a transfer module. The latter is supposed to move the former two between different orbits. Dynetics suggests a landing and ascent shuttle with drop-off tanks. SpaceX wants to use the one-piece Starship spaceship to fly to the surface of the moon after refueling in earth orbit. For redundancy reasons, NASA plans to procure and launch two different ferries separately for the moon landing in 2024.Template: future / in 4 years

planning

Artemis planning until 2024, as of early 2020

Since the Artemis program was launched, plans for its implementation have changed several times. The responsible top management at NASA - the head of the manned space flight department - has also been replaced. In May 2020, the new head resigned, so this post had to be filled again. The exact sequence of the moon landings will depend, among other things, on which of the technically very different landing systems NASA has chosen.

First of all, the Orion spaceship will be tested with the unmanned Artemis 1 mission (2021) and the Artemis 2 manned mission (2022 Template: future / in 2 yearsor 2023). Both flights should start with the SLS and lead around the moon. The first two modules of the LOP-G space station are then to be brought into orbit around the moon. With further flights by privately operated rockets, the two lunar ferries are also to be transported into lunar orbit. After all, with Artemis 3 , astronauts would land on the moon for the first time since 1972, probably without using the gateway.

Draft of the second phase of the Artemis program

Thereafter, annual expeditions to the lunar surface will take place, while the LOP-G will be expanded and Template: future / in 5 yearsa permanent US presence on the moon will be created until 2028 . NASA understands a “permanent presence” as a “sustainable return” to the lunar surface in the sense of visits that are possible at any time. She also proposed the provision of residential modules on the lunar surface that could serve as the basis for expeditions of up to 45 days. A permanently manned moon base is not provided.

This process differs from the previous planning, among other things, in the postponement of the LOP-G expansion and an earlier acquisition of the lunar module (s). Other acceleration measures include the outsourcing of launches to private rocket operators and investments in more efficient SLS production.

To prepare for and support the manned moon landings, NASA is planning additional unmanned landings or “robotic missions”. They are from 2021 as part of the 2018 launched CLPS -Progamms ( Commercial Lunar Payload Services - carried out "a commercial lunar payload Services") and in particular explore the south polar region. With Artemis 1, around ten small satellites are also to be brought into orbit around the moon and from there, among other things, to investigate the water resources.

implementation

Transporting the Orion capsule before the first test (2013)

The first Artemis element to be completed was the “European service module” built by Airbus for Artemis 1. The first test flight of an Orion capsule took place at the end of 2014. An aborted take-off test took place in July 2019.

In April 2020, after a one-year design competition, NASA selected three lander concepts , the development of which it will initially fund with just under a billion US dollars. One of the designs comes from the National Team consortium of Blue Origin , Lockheed Martin , Draper and Northrop Grumman , another from a team from Dynetics and the Sierra Nevada Corporation, and the third from SpaceX . In February 2021, NASA would like to opt for two of these lunar lander types.

NASA placed the first three CLPS orders for the transport of payloads to the lunar surface in May 2019 to Astrobotic , Intuitive Machines and OrbitBeyond . Like Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin, these three companies had previously worked on the development of lunar landers, Astrobotic and OrbitBeyond also on a rover . However, the order to OrbitBeyond was canceled after two months. The two remaining flights should lead to Lacus Mortis and Oceanus Procellarum in 2021 . Another order went to Masten Space Systems in April 2020 ; this mission is scheduled to Template: future / in 2 yearsland in the South Pole region in 2022 .

See also

Websites

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b William Harwood: President Trump makes moon missions NASA's near-term goal. In: Spaceflight Now. December 11, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Eric Berger: There's a new report on SLS rocket management, and it's pretty brutal. In: Ars Technica . October 10, 2018, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Olivia Nuzzi: How Trump Offered NASA Unlimited Funding to Go to Mars in His First Term. In: New York . January 22, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Loren Grush: Mike Pence tells NASA to accelerate human missions to the Moon 'by any means necessary'. In: The Verge . March 26, 2019, accessed April 15, 2019 .
  5. ^ Remarks by Vice President Pence at the Fifth Meeting of the National Space Council | Huntsville, AL. The White House , March 26, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Nadia Drake: Why the moon's south pole may be the hottest destination in space. In: National Geographic . May 9, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  7. ↑ China aims to explore polar regions of Moon by 2030. In: China Daily . September 25, 2018, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Christoph Seidler: "Artemis Accords" by NASA: America's claim to the moon . Spiegel Online , May 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ Loren Grush: NASA Announces International Artemis Accords to standardize how to explore the Moon . The Verge, May 15, 2020.
  10. ↑ Jeff Foust: NASA seeks an additional $ 1.6 billion for 2024 Moon plan. In: Spacenews. May 13, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  11. ^ Jeff Foust: Bridenstine says $ 1.6 billion at “low end” of funding needed to keep 2024 lunar landing on schedule. In: Spacenews. May 15, 2019, accessed May 16, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Spending Deal Buoy's Science Agency Budgets . American Institute of Physics, December 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ Final FY 2020 Funding Bill Increases Maximum Pell, Addresses Issues With Loan Servicers, Foreign Gift Reporting . National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, December 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ Eric Berger: NASA puts a price on a 2024 Moon landing— $ 35 billion . Ars Technica, February 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Philip Sloss: NASA Launch Services Program outlines the alternative launcher review for EM-1. In: Nasaspaceflight.com. April 19, 2019, accessed May 15, 2019 .
  16. ↑ a b NASA takes Gateway off the critical path for 2024 lunar return . Spacenews, March 13, 2020.
  17. ↑ a b NASA plans to launch first two gateway elements on the same rocket . Spaceflight Now, May 6, 2020.
  18. ↑ a b c Stephen Clark: Blue Origin wins lion's share of NASA funding for human-rated lunar lander . April 30, 2020, accessed May 7, 2020.
  19. ↑ a b Loren Grush, Jim Bridenstine: NASA administrator on new Moon plan: 'We're doing this in a way that's never been done before'. In: The Verge. May 17, 2019, accessed May 17, 2019 (The two redundant moon landers were confirmed in a NASA presentation on October 29, 2019, according to reporting on Twitter from Chris Gebhardt, Nasaspaceflight.com.).
  20. ↑ NASA human spaceflight head Loverro leaves agency . Spacenews, May 19, 2020.
  21. ↑ NASA's new human spaceflight chief is determined to make 2024 deadline . Spacenews, January 7, 2020.
  22. ↑ Eric Berger: How much will the Moon plan cost? We should know in two weeks. In: Ars Technica. April 16, 2019, accessed on April 16, 2019 (see also additional Twitter message from Eric Berger).
  23. ^ Jeff Foust: NASA outlines plan for 2024 lunar landing. In: Spacenews. May 1, 2019, accessed May 1, 2019 .
  24. ^ Forward to the Moon: NASA's Strategic Plan for Lunar Exploration. (PDF) NASA, May 2019, accessed on May 26, 2019 .
  25. ↑ America to the Moon by 2024 NASA's FY 2020 Budget Amendment Summary. (PDF) NASA, May 13, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  26. ^ Moon and Mars / Moon to Mars. In: nasa.gov. Retrieved on May 15, 2019 : "2018 - Lunar surface missions: NASA will establish sustainable lunar surface missions"
  27. ^ Administrator Bridenstine's Speech at the Space Symposium. In: Youtube . NASA, April 9, 2019, accessed on May 15, 2019 : “This is a sustainable return to the Moon, where we can go back and forth to the Moon with landers and rovers and robots and humans. We can have access to the entirety of the moon. Anytime we want, anywhere we want, we can get to the surface of the moon. That is the sustainable return to the moon. "
  28. ^ NASA's Plans For a Lunar Base Camp . Universe Today, April 9, 2020.
  29. ^ NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services. NASA, November 29, 2018, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  30. ^ Moon's South Pole in NASA's Landing Sites. NASA, April 16, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  31. ^ Philip Sloss: Airbus performing Orion ESM checkout for trip to US launch site. In: Nasaspaceflight.com. July 13, 2018, accessed May 15, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Launch Abort System Demonstrates Ability to Pull Astronauts to Safety - Ascent Abort-2. NASA, July 2, 2019, accessed July 2, 2019 (American English).
  33. ↑ NASA Taps 11 American Companies to Advance Human Lunar Landers. NASA, May 16, 2019, accessed May 17, 2019 .
  34. ^ NASA Selects First Commercial Moon Landing Services for Artemis Program. NASA, May 31, 2019, accessed May 13, 2019 .
  35. ^ Commercial Lunar Payload Services Update. NASA, July 29, 2019, accessed July 29, 2019 .
  36. ↑ masts wins NASA lunar lander award . Spacenews, April 8, 2020.