Preparation for space flight, for the "Artemis II" mission to the moon

2024-08-26 18:27:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

NASA has completed production of a key piece of spaceflight system equipment that will be used to send astronauts to the Moon. The Artemis II mission launch vehicle was manufactured at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and is being transported by waterway on a two-week journey to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA officials say the 27-meter-tall conical vehicle is an important part of the launch pad for the next mission to the moon, Artemis II.

This device will protect the engines of the spacecraft, which will make a test flight around the Moon.

"This critical vehicle for the space launch system is being loaded onto the Pegasus floating platform for the trip to the Kennedy Space Center. It is primarily a structural part that will be used to carry cargo to the launch pad of the Orion spacecraft," explains Matthew Ramsey, Artemis II mission manager.

Part of the Artemis II mission is to send four astronauts around the Moon on a 10-day flight in September 2025.

Lauren Fisher, a structural materials engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is part of the team working on the Artemis program.

"I've always hoped we'd go back to the moon. I did not think that I would be part of such an important team for the realization of this mission. I am very proud and happy to be part of this program", she says.

Even Artemis II mission manager Matthew Ramsey is excited.

"It's a big deal because it's been 50 years since we sent people to the moon," he says.

The Artemis II crew members are astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Hammock Koch.

NASA hopes that the circumnavigation of the moon will pave the way for astronaut Hammock Koch to become the first woman to set foot on the moon on the next mission, Artemis III.

"Astronauts are fantastic people. Christina is amazing. I think she may have set the record for the longest stay by an American woman in space. So, we are dealing with people who are advanced in the field of science and technology", says Mr. Ramsey.

The new moon mission is much more collaborative and international than previous Apollo missions, Mr. Ramsey points out.

"It is not a kind of monolithic program, where only the United States will be engaged. As we continue to develop our technology, we will also collaborate with the Canadians, the Saudis and the Europeans,” he says.

After the conical structure arrives at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers will work to prepare the spacecraft for launch./Voa/