From Apollo to Artemis – the Next Giant Leap

SYNOPSIS

In 1961 President Kennedy set NASA the goal of landing a Man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth by the end of the decade. This goal was achieved by Apollo 11 in July 1969 and further Moon missions followed until the program ended in 1972. The US presence in space changed focus to the Space Shuttle which ran from 1981 until it was ended in 2011.
In the 1990s the idea of returning to the Moon began to gain traction and in the 2000s the Constellation Program took shape with the design of the Orion capsule and the Ares rockets, however this program was cancelled after only one test launch.

The program returned as Artemis in the mid-2010s and the first Mission – unmanned- took place in 2022 and was successful. Further mission will follow, this time crewed.

This talk will look back at the Apollo history and the intermediate steps and will then focus on the upcoming next steps in the Artemis program giving a guide to what to expect in coming years.

Biography:

Paul was a schoolboy in the 1960s and had some interest in Space. In 1968, with the Apollo 8 crewed Moon mission, this interest really lifted off, boosted by a Christmas present of Patrick Moore’s “Oberservers’ guide to Astronomy” which began his lifelong interest in all things space.

Paul has lived in NI since 2003 and is currently in his sixth non-consecutive year as IAA President and has also been Chair of IFAS where he is currently Vice-Chair.

He lives on the Antrim Coast with wife Jude and cat Ollie and during the day he keeps the TV and Radio on air.