Two previous attempts were ‘scrubbed’ after the rocket experienced technical glitches including a fuel leak in last week of August and early September receptively. The mission is an exciting step towards returning humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.
In the last launch attempt on 3 September, just 40 minutes before the Space Launch System rocket was set to take off from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida a leaking fuel line caused engineers to scrub the launch.
About Artemis 1 mission
The Artemis 1 mission is not just about putting our footprints on lunar dust: it marks the beginning of a new space race for lunar resources.
It will carry out a 42-day uncrewed test flight to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. The trip will use a new launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), which is the most powerful rocket currently operational in the world.
On board will be three mannequins made of materials replicating male and female biology. NASA will use the mannequins to test the comfort and safety of the launch vehicle and spaceflight capsule for humans.
There are also many other experiments on board, and a series of small satellites will be launched to provide data when the capsule nears the Moon.
The lessons from this mission will be applied to Artemis II, the mission planned for 2024 that will see the first woman and the first person of colour reach the Moon.
Why a long wait to relaunch?
Artemis will have to wait for a suitable "launch window" to embark its journey to Moon. A launch window is like waiting for the stars to align. The rocket will be “thrown" off the surface of Earth. This toss must be timed perfectly so the craft’s resulting path through space sends it – and everything it’s carrying – towards the intended location at the right time.
For Artemis I – a mission to send the Orion capsule into orbit around the Moon – the “right time" means waiting for the Moon to be as close to Earth as possible (known as “perigee") during its 28-day cycle. Hence why we’ll now be waiting roughly four weeks for the next moonshot.
With much of the flight path relying on gravity assists (a “swing-by" that uses the momentum of a large body to increase or decrease the speed of a passing craft) from both Earth and the Moon, and because we want the Orion capsule to come back safely, the timing is crucial.
Orion must slingshot past the Moon, not crash into it, so the positions of the rocket launcher, Earth, Moon and lunar capsule must all be known precisely at all times.
The politics behind the mission
NASA's mission to Moon is not all about exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. Just as the 1960s space race was driven by Cold War geopolitics, today’s space programmemes are underpinned by today’s geopolitics.
Artemis is led by the US, with participation by the European Space Agency and many other friendly nations including Australia.
China and Russia are collaborating on their own Moon programme. They plan to land humans in 2026 and construct a Moon base by 2035.
India too is working on robotic Moon landers and a lunar spaceflight programme. The UAE plans to launch a lunar lander in November this year as well.
All of these programmes are aiming to do more than simply land astronauts for brief visits to the Moon. The longer-term goal of the race is to acquire lunar resources.
In the next five years or so we can expect to see enormous political tensions rising around this new race to the Moon.
Technical and political challenges
There is some poetic perfection in NASA having chosen the name “Artemis" for this new lunar endeavour. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the Moon, and the twin sister of Apollo (the namesake of NASA’s 1960s Moon spaceflight programme).
Artemis declared she never wanted to be married because she didn’t want to become the property of any man.
Even if ownership of the Moon cannot be claimed, we will see competition over whether parts of it can be mined. No doubt scientists and engineers will resolve the technical challenges of the return to the Moon. Resolving the legal and political challenges may prove more difficult.
(With inputs from wire agencies)
