It seemed that with the successful launch last Wednesday of the megarocket Space Launch System (SLS) the problems would end for Artemis Ithe mission that kicks off the new lunar program of the NASA, which aspires to bring the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface. However, after two failed takeoffs and two cancellations due to bad weather, the team continues adding mishaps, now in space. For now, the Orion capsulewhich is currently unmanned but will be the transport vehicle for future astronauts from Artemis II, has reported up to 13 anomalies; and half of the CubeSatsthe small probes that accompanied the mission for scientific purposes, do not behave as expected.
As reported by the US space agency at a press conference at dawn on Friday, one of the most important failures has involved the ship’s navigation system: using the bright points of the stars as a reference, it knows where it is and where it is heading. it has to be directed; however, it returned data from anomalous readings of the stars, which could affect the probe’s course.
At first, this fact puzzled the team. But it was eventually discovered that the sensors were being ‘blinded’ by the glow of Orion’s thrusters during engine starts. As for the other 12 anomalies, those responsible clarified that they are “minor failures”, without giving more information.
Those who seem to be in the most serious trouble are half of the fleet of CubeSats accompanying the mission. These are 10 small, shoebox-sized probes with science experiments on board. Although according to NASA they all deployed well in orbit (that is, they reached their destination in space), five of them (specifically LunIR, Lunar IceCube, NEA Scout, CuSP and Team Miles) “have encountered technical problems after , have experienced intermittent communications or, in one case, we have not received a signal as planned,” he explained. Mike Serafinresponsible for the Artemis I mission.
The rest (ArgoMoon, BioSentinel, Equuleus, LunaH-Map and OMOTENASHI) “are on the road to success,” he clarified. Serafin explained that each CubeSat is operated by independent groups and that he did not have all the information, but in any case these are very risky experiments in which the risk of failure was expected to be very high.
damaged launch tower
The person in charge of the mission also revealed that the Artemis 1 mobile launch tower was damaged by the takeoff of the SLS – not in vain is it the most powerful NASA rocket ever launched into space. For example, the armored doors of the elevators in the tower were blown up during the launch.
Even so, Serafin called for calm, as damage was also expected after the powerful takeoff. “The team is proceeding with great caution to get the full status of the mobile launcher, and they are working to fix it,” he noted.
On the way to the first lunar flyby
Despite everything, the team affirmed that the Orion capsule “is exceeding expectations” in its flight through space, and they maintain the goal of flying close to the Moon next Monday. “Orion has played its role very well so far,” he said. Jim Geffre, ship integration director. “All systems exceed expectations from a performance standpoint.”
The probe will approach our satellite on Monday just 130 kilometers from its surface around 1:44 p.m. The mission plan calls for the capsule to perform a crucial 2.5-minute engine start during the maneuver, which will prepare the probe to enter lunar orbit four days later. Even so, it will be decided during Saturday if this critical engine start is carried out. “At this point we look good and we are ready to continue with the Still Execution,” said the Artemis 1 flight director, Jeff Radiganduring the press conference.
25 and a half days of travel
If all goes according to plan and Orion starts its engines on Monday, the capsule will repeat the operation on November 25. That start will insert the capsule into a distant lunar retrograde orbit, taking it to within 40,000 miles of the hidden surface of the Moon. If repeated with crew members on board -as is the intention with Artemis II, scheduled for next year-, it will be the furthest that human beings have ever been from Earth.
The capsule will remain in that orbit until December 1, when it will perform another engine burn that will set Orion on course for our planet again. If all goes according to plan, the capsule will make its reentry on December 11, 25 and a half days after takeoff, parachuting into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.