NASA Sends Artemis II to the Moon

NASA has sent astronauts back to the moon once again aboard the Artemis II mission. The Space Launch System and Orion Capsule successfully sent astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen to the moon for the first time in 54 years.

The Artemis Program is the second program to send astronauts to the moon following Apollo in the mid 1900’s. The program’s mission is to create a sustainable lunar presence for future missions and explore more into deep space. The Apollo program was rather to get humans to the moon as fast as possible, during the Cold War.

Artemis II is the second mission to date, as Artemis I was the initial test of the Space Launch System and Orion as it was an unmanned mission. The mission was a success, although it did find a flaw in the heat shield that was later fixed for the manned mission on Artemis II.

Both the names of Apollo and Artemis are related to the Greek Mythology Twins who represent lunar exploration and exploration. The 17 Apollo missions were  the United States first attempt of getting man on the moon. 

Apollo 1 never went to space, as a fire in the cockpit killed the three astronauts during a test. Changes were made, Apollo 2 through 6 were unmanned tests, and Apollo 7 orbited our earth. Apollo 8 through 10 were the most important tests, as they went to the moon, tested the lander, and practiced procedures used during real landings. 

Apollo 11 was the first landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words of “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Following this, 12 through 17 went and landed on the moon, with the exception of 13. Apollo 13 suffered an oxygen tank explosion on their way to the moon, but safely returned by catapulting the ship using the moon's gravity.

Since the Apollo program, NASA has not sent anyone to the moon until now. Artemis II marks the first mission to the moon since the 70s, and is the first of many trips. Artemis III plans to land on the lunar surface to conduct more studies. Artemis IV and beyond plan to build infrastructure for future space missions. This is the first step towards deep space exploration past the moon. The Apollo missions proved we can go to the moon, and the Artemis program is all about proving we build past the earth’s boundaries.