Artemis 1

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is aimed at exploring the Moon with the specific objective of getting human beings back on the lunar surface and possibly beyond to Mars and elsewhere.

The launch of a keenly awaited space mission that is being seen as the start of a new age in space exploration had to be put off after engineers were unable to resolve a problem involving inadequate flow of liquid hydrogen to one of the rocket’s four engines.

Back to the Moon

• It has been 50 years since the six Apollo human moon landings between 1969 and 1972. There has been huge progress in space exploration since then. 
• Spacecraft have now gone beyond the solar system, exploratory missions have probed Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, more than 500 astronauts have travelled to space and back, and permanent space laboratories like the International Space Station (ISS) have been set up.

Artemis 1

• Artemis 1 is all about laying the foundations for more complex and ambitious missions.
• It is carrying several payloads in the form of small satellites called CubeSats, each of which is equipped with instruments meant for specific investigations and experiments.
• Then there are biology experiments, investigating the behaviour of small organisms like fungi and algae in outer space, and the effect of radiation, especially the reaction on their genes.
• The Orion spacecraft, which is specifically designed to carry astronauts into deep space on future missions, will have three dummy ‘passengers’ mannequins made of material that mimic human bones, skin, and soft tissue.
• These would be equipped with a host of sensors to record the various impacts of deep space atmosphere on the human body.
• The rocket that is being used for the Artemis missions, called Space Launch System, or SLS, is the most powerful ever built.
• The giant, 98-metre-tall rocket, weighing 2,500 tonnes, can help the Orion spacecraft achieve speeds of over 36,000 km per hour, and take it directly to the Moon.