The US space agency NASA has said that the Artemis 2 mission will be launched on February 6. This will be the first human lunar mission since 1972. NASA confirmed this information on Tuesday.
The journey of this mission will be 10 days. Three NASA astronauts will participate in it. They are Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. They will be accompanied by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They will go around the moon and return to Earth.
The Artemis 2 mission will not land on the lunar surface. However, this mission is very important for the future. Through this, the path will be paved for the Artemis 3 mission in 2027. In that mission, humans will set foot on the moon again after many years.
The launch schedule is very limited. This time has been set due to the orbit of the Earth and the moon. The main launch will be from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From here, the Apollo missions once set off for the moon.
If the launch on February 6 is not possible, an alternative date has been set. Possible dates are February 7, 8, 10 and 11.
No manned spacecraft has gone beyond low Earth orbit in 53 years. Artemis 2 is going to end that long wait.
The Orion spacecraft will be used in this mission. It will be carried by NASA’s Space Launch System or SLS rocket. After launch, the spacecraft will first orbit the Earth. There, the life support system will be tested. Then it will head towards the Moon.
The moon’s gravity will be used while flying close to it. The spacecraft will then return to Earth on that energy.
