NASA’s Artemis I Mission Return Trip Lunar Flyby
On Dec. 5, NASA will air the lunar flyby of the Orion spacecraft on its return trek toward Earth. Orion completed a burn Dec. 1 to exit a lunar orbit thousands of miles beyond the Moon, where engineers have been testing systems to improve understanding of the spacecraft before future missions with astronauts. The return powered flyby burn, in which the spacecraft will harness the Moon’s gravity and accelerate back toward Earth, is expected at 11:43 a.m. (1643 UTC) The spacecraft is expected to fly about 79 miles above the lunar surface at 11:42 a.m. (16:42 UTC) just before the burn.
Orion launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at 1:47 am EST (0647 UTC) on Nov. 16 from historic Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Orion entered a distant retrograde orbit on at 4:52 p.m. EST (2152 UTC) on Nov. 25, where the spacecraft has been testing systems in a deep space environment.
The Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and Kennedy Space Center ground systems.
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Artemis II Astronauts’ First Look at Their Lunar Spacecraft
Today, the Artemis II astronauts got their first look at the Orion spacecraft slated to fly them around the Moon in late 2024.
The Artemis II crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Artemis II is the first crewed mission on our path to establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon, and is the first mission with astronauts to the Moon's orbit in more than 50 years.
The approximately 10-day flight test will launch on the powerful Space Launch System rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.
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Who Will Fly Around the Moon? Introducing the Artemis II Astronauts LIVE (Official NASA Broadcast)
Meet the four astronauts who will take a trip around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft on their approximately 10-day Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight test and a critical step toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.
NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will reveal the three NASA astronauts and one CSA astronaut during an event at 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT) on Monday, April 3, from NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston.
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“Fuel” and Fire: NASA’s Artemis Missions to the Moon, feat. Metallica
What do Metallica and NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon have in common? Both love “Fuel” and fire. See footage of the Artemis I launch scored by Metallica’s “Fuel.”
Artemis II: Mission Overview
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.
The astronauts will launch from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B atop the SLS rocket as it generates 8.8 million pounds of thrust, beginning their 600,000 mile journey. Once out of our atmosphere, these star sailors will conduct a targeting demonstration and check the Orion spacecraft’s systems near Earth before they head around the Moon and back to Earth, reentering our atmosphere at 30 times the speed of sound, before gently splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
Artemis II's crew is comprised of NASA astronauts commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.
Artemis II: Meet the Astronauts Who will Fly Around the Moon (Official NASA Video)
Four astronauts have been selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.
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Earthrise after Orion Executes Outbound Powered Flyby
The Earth is seen rising from behind the shadowed surface of the Moon in this video taken on the sixth day of the Artemis I mission by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays. The spacecraft had just successfully executed the Outbound Powered Flyby maneuver which brought it within 80 miles of the lunar surface, the closest approach of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, before moving into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft entered the lunar sphere of influence Sunday, Nov. 20, making the Moon, instead of Earth, the main gravitational force acting on the spacecraft.
Do Robots Help Humans in Space? We Asked a NASA Technologist
When it comes to space, humans and robots go way back. We rely heavily on our mechanical friends to perform tasks that are too dangerous, difficult, or out of reach for us humans. We’re even working on a new generation of robots that will help us explore in advanced and novel ways.
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Highlights: First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope (Official NASA Video)
NASA revealed the first five full-color images and spectrographic data from the world's most powerful space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). The world got its first look at the full capabilities of the mission at a live event streamed from the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on July 12, 2022.
The event showcased these targets:
- Carina Nebula: A landscape speckled with glittering stars and cosmic cliffs
- Stephan’s Quintet: An enormous mosaic with a visual grouping of five galaxies
- Southern Ring Nebula: A nebula with rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions
- WASP 96-b: A distinct signature of water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet orbiting a distant Sun-like star
- SMACS 0723: The deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date
NASA’s Artemis I Mission Begins Departure from Lunar Orbit
NASA will begin coverage of the Orion spacecraft performing the first of two maneuvers to exit lunar orbit, called the distant retrograde orbit departure burn, on Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. EST (21:30 UTC). The burn is scheduled to occur at 4:53 p.m. EST (21:53 UTC).
Orion launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at 1:47 a.m. EST (06:47 UTC) on Nov. 16 from historic Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Orion entered a distant retrograde orbit on at 4:52 p.m. EST (21:52 UTC) on Nov. 25, where the spacecraft has been testing systems in a deep space environment.
The Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and Kennedy Space Center ground systems.
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NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Mission to the Space Station (Official Trailer)
An international crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos will perform research technology demonstrations, science experiments, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.
Crew-7 is targeted to launch no earlier than 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020 for NASA.
Ride Along with Artemis Around the Moon (Official NASA Video)
Cameras on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft give us amazing views of our adventure around the Moon. See up close views of the Moon from external cameras as well as the view from inside the capsule.
Orion is the only spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth on Artemis missions to deep space and bringing them back to Earth from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency happens during launch, and a European-built service module that is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power, and temperature control, as well as a heat shield that can handle high-speed returns from deep space. SLS is the most powerful rocket in the world and the only rocket capable of launching Orion with astronauts and their supplies on Artemis missions to the Moon.
Orion launched on the SLS rocket from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test of our SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and exploration ground systems for future Artemis missions—which will provide the foundation to send humans to the lunar surface, develop a long-term presence on and around the Moon, and pave the way for humanity to set foot on Mars.
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Earth Rise as Seen from Orion Spacecraft
Earth rises from behind the Moon in this video captured by a camera on one of Orion’s solar array wings. The video was taken at 8:05 a.m. EST on flight day six of the 25.5 day Artemis I mission, shortly after the outbound powered flyby and six minutes after the spacecraft regained connection with NASA’s Deep Space Network.
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