Artemis missions: 4 steps in a celestial breakthrough

 In 2017, NASA began to a new mission called Artemis which intends to bring astronauts to the Moon during the 2020s. After a Constellation program was cancelled due to unrealistic launch plans, work continued on Orian, a crewed spacecraft. After that, the Donald Trump administration declared Orion as the first part of the Artemis program. The Artemis program is dividied into 4 steps: Artemis I, Artemis II, Artemis III, and Artemis IV. So far, only Artemis I has been completed.

  Artemis I is the first step of the project, and it is the only one completed so far. The mission of Artemis I was to send the spacecraft on a 1.4 million-mile journey to the Moon and back. Helped by thousands of people around the world, Orion was launched in November 16, 2002. At launch, the only 'passenger' was Commander Moonikin Campos, a manikin wearing a spacesuit. To see how the space mission would affect humans, it was also equipped with sensors measuring acceleration, vibration, and radiation. After two flybys to the moon with many photos, Orian landed in the Pacific Ocean on December 11, proving Artemis I to be a successful mission.

NASA/Joel Kowsky

  The next and current step is Artemis II. This project is planning major steps into bringing people in the moon, which includes bringing the first person of color as well as the first woman. Comprised of 4 astronauts in the crew, the astronauts will be going to the Moon by NASA's SLS(Space Launch System) rocket and the previous Orion spacecraft will also be venturing to the moon as well. Planning to start no earlier than September 2025, this mission is still being prepared for by the maximum. While the Artemis rocket is being prepared for shipment, the astronaut crew is undergoing training that will help them during the space mission.These trainings include activating systems, escape plans(in case something goes wrong on board, and physical fitness(to be able to execute the various missions and challenges of going to the moon).

   Artemis III, planning to be launched no earlier than September 2026 is planning something even bigger. It is planning to bring a team of 4 astronauts to lunar orbit and bring the first people to the lunar South Pole region. The lunar South Pole has become an interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in shadowed areas as well as unique craters which could contain fossils of hydrogen, water ice, and other parts of the Solar System history. For 30 days (the approximate mission time), two crew members will land on the South Pole and conduct science missions before landing back on the earth.

  Artemis IV includes the development of humanity's first lunar space station called Gateway. Gateway, with many international partnerships, will include docking ports for spacecrafts, a lab for science investigations, and facilities for astronauts to eat, work, and sleep. Probably being the hardest mission in the Artemis Campaign, this project includes multiple launches and dockings to the moon. NASA is even planning to create a new method of tracking time on the moon for astronauts, which may also include putting the first clocks on the moon.By the launch of the lunar space station, it will be enable to bring opportunities for new science experiments on the moon as well as be able to prepare for future missions to Mars or even further.

 Even an Artemis V is being planned as well after the launch of Gateway, During this mission, the crew will enter the lunar space station and activate the system while checking to make sure everything is working right. After this, two crew members will spend 6 days on the moon surface for more experiments and samples. After this, the astronauts will depart Gateway and go back to the Earth while transferring scientific samples.

   In conclusion, the Artemis missions will be a breakthrough in aerospace engineering and discovery. Through these, NASA will bring the first woman and the first person of color to the moon, the first people to the lunar South Pole, as well as develop the first lunar station. Though these are all challenges to NASA, as much as these are all being carefully monitored and planned for, NASA will bring breakthroughs with this Artemis project.