The Artemis 1 mission is proceeding smoothly. The ignition of the European Service Module rocket will place the spacecraft in the right lunar orbit
The Artemis 1 mission is proceeding as scheduled after the launch on Wednesday morning. Late in the evening (around 11 pm Italian time), NASA announced a press conference on the status of the mission, shortly before the capsule Orion enter the sphere of influence of Luna. In practice when the gravitational attraction of our natural satellite will exceed that of the Earth. Meanwhile Orion has sent spectacular new images of our planet with Africa in the foreground.
In lunar orbit
Flight controllers will perform an Orion rocket burn to best position the spacecraft, accelerate it, and direct it to the intended retrograde orbit (with respect to the lunar orbital plane), a very stable orbital position with low fuel consumption. At its closest point in orbit, Orion will fly past the Moon at a height of only 130 kilometers, but no landing is expected. Four days later, a new firing of the engines of the European service module will place Orion in a more distant orbit, to a point some 64,000 kilometers from the surface where all the sensors positioned on two mannequins can be tested and experimented for a week. to test the lingering consequences of the next journey with flesh-and-blood astronauts.
Japan’s new commitment
Meanwhile, NASA has announced that the Japan has signed a participation agreement, together with Europe and the USA, for the construction of the future Gateway space station, which will be positioned around the Moon. Tokyo it will supply important elements to the I-Hab housing module in which the crew will live and work, to the thermal control system and to the cameras. In addition, a Japanese astronaut will participate in one of the upcoming Artemis missions. The agreement also includes Japan’s commitment to participate in the activity of the International Space Station until 2030.
November 18, 2022 (change November 18, 2022 | 12:58)
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