Artemis-I – NASA
Recently, NASA has postponed the launch of the Artemis-1 lunar mission due to a fault in the rocket engine.
- The purpose of NASA’s Artemis mission is to explore (study) the Moon. The special purpose of this exploration is to explore the possibilities of landing humans on the surface of the Moon, as well as possibly on Mars and other planets beyond it.
- The Atemis-1 mission was an unmanned test flight. Artemis-2 will have a crew. Only the Artemis-3 mission is likely to land a man on the Moon.
- Artemis-1 was going to be the first flight of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The SLS is one of the most powerful rockets ever.
- It is designed to launch the Orion spacecraft. Orion is designed for missions to send humans into deep space.
- The interest of countries on the Moon has increased in recent years and so many countries have planned lunar missions in the coming years.
Some of the major missions are the following:
- Chandrayaan-3: India,
- Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter: South Korea,
- Luna-25: Russia,
- Slim (SLIM): Japan etc.
Reasons for the recent increase in interest for the Moon-
- Economic reason: Helium-3 is an isotope of the element helium. It is present in abundance on the Moon, but is rare on Earth. It is a potential fuel for nuclear fusion.
- As a Base for Future Space Discoveries: Testing on the Moon will help learn how life responds to the harsh conditions of space.
- Studying the Earth: This is because the Moon and the Earth share a common past.
Source – The Hindu
