artemis ii project explained
the artemis project is a space program
created by nasa and supported by other
space agencies such as the european
space agency esa and the canadian space
agency csa and his primary mission is to
lay the groundwork for bringing the next
generation of humans to the moon and
subsequently mars
the artemis project consists of three
stages in previous videos we talked
about some estimated dates for the
launch of the artemis project as well as
the inconveniences that have delayed its
start and the details of stage one
called artemis one which will be
responsible for testing the provisional
cryogenic propulsion stage icps and the
orion module around the moon
if you want to know what that first
stage consists of you can check the
video out here
artemis ii
artemis ii is the second stage of the
artemis project and will consist of a
series of human crude missions aboard
the orion spacecraft in this mission the
astronauts will prepare for the next
ones to establish a base on the moon
mission
artemis 2 will be the second stage of
the artemis project
its launch date will be subject to
artemis 1 and its main objective will be
to bring to the moon instruments and
astronauts who will make preparations
for the safe arrival of humans the
liftoff of the mission will be the same
as with artemis one a space launch
system sls that will carry the
provisional cryogenic propulsion stage
icps and the orion spacecraft with a
crew of four astronauts
once the sls reaches the earth's orbit
it will decouple and return to earth on
its own the icps will be in charge of
taking the orion spacecraft to the moon
with fuel based on hydrogen and oxygen
unlike artemis 1 where icps primarily
use the earth's gravitational assistance
to propel itself to the moon artemis 2
will use only icps fuel to leave earth
as soon as possible to prevent the crew
from lying too much time inside the van
allen belts
van allen belts
the van allen belts are two ring-shaped
areas around the earth where high
concentrations of radiation can be
dangerous for living beings
to prevent astronauts from suffering
damage from this radiation the orion
spacecraft will be equipped with a
coating consisting of a double layer of
aluminum filled with kevlar the material
used in the anti-water break echo shawls
this is because nasa engineers found
that two thin layers of protection offer
better protection than a thick layer
this ensures their protection from
radiation and impacts from small space
bodies such as meteors or space debris
despite this protection a small
percentage of radioactive particles
managed to cross the ship's defenses and
reach the astronauts bodies however they
are very mild doses of radiation if a
human receives it for a very long period
more than 10 hours it will cause
irreversible damage to the body causing
cancer or aplastic anemia over years
to avoid this all astronauts have to
spend as little time as possible inside
the van allen belts
this way the orion spacecraft will
traverse the van allen belts in no more
than two hours a perfectly reasonable
time
once the spacecraft has passed through
the danger zone the engines can be
turned off and the craft will be driven
only by the inter-island gravitational
pull force of the moon having to turn on
the machines only to make minimal
direction adjustments
on the moon
once the crew reaches the moon they will
begin with studying the lunar surface
making a bunch of orbits getting to the
very remote regions including the dark
side of the moon
as you know the moon has a face always
facing the earth this phenomenon is
known as tidal coupling and has been
observed in other solar system bodies
and extrasolar planets
because of this astronauts will be able
to see from the windows of the orion
spacecraft the far side of the moon and
the earth in the background as the vast
and bright blue sphere that gave life to
the human race
during their stay in lunar orbit
astronauts will study the terrain
specifically south of the moon and
determine the best region for their
companions on upcoming missions to land
why is the south of the moon so
important
unlike the apollo missions that landed
near the equator of the moon to have
regular communication with the earth the
tasks of the artemis program have
established landing at the south pole
nasa has the stratospheric observatory
for infrared astronomy sophia a 2.5
meter diameter reflecting telescope
installed on the boeing 747 sp aircraft
modified to scrutinize space from
earth's atmosphere allowing it to exceed
99 percent of earth's atmospheric layer
a position from which it can obtain data
about the solar system that are not
possible with the terrestrial telescopes
after nasa scientists thoroughly analyze
the data and observations made by sophia
they discovered that large reserves of
frozen water exist in the large cold and
deep craters of the polar regions of the
moon
in addition they revealed that in the
south polar region where the lunar
prospect mission found water in the late
1990s there are similar shallower
depressions that could be cold enough to
retain moisture for thousands or
millions of years
if proposed is to establish the first
lunar base water will be fundamental to
achieve this if future missions somehow
manage to extract these reserves of
frozen water at the poles and take
advantage of them to meet human needs it
means a massive leap in the use of
resources of our solar system to expand
the human race
artemis ii astronauts will study the
terrain in conjunction with the
artificial satellite moon reconnaissance
orbiter which has already provided
geographic data of the lunar landscape
and craters
this will help them determine which is
the safest and most stable region for
the moon landing and those craters that
could contain the most significant water
reserves
after spending four days orbiting the
moon and once they have conducted the
relevant studies to determine the moon
landing zone the astronauts mission will
be over and they will embark on a
journey back to earth
return trip during the one-way trip to
the moon the icps would have spent a lot
of fuel to leave the van allen belts as
quickly as possible because of this it
is likely that the astronauts do not
have enough energy
to propel the spacecraft to high speeds
and decrease their stay in space
fortunately that won't be a problem for
two reasons
the first is that the icps has
sufficient supplies and reserves of
water food and oxygen for astronauts to
stay in space for up to three weeks
and second because that will not be
necessary since for the return trip the
icps will use the gravitational
assistance of the moon to propel itself
towards the earth and once it leaves the
influence of the moon it will be
attracted by the gravitational influence
of the earth in this way only using the
gravitational attraction force the
astronauts will be able to return home
once they reach earth's orbit the icps
will decouple and the orion spacecraft
will enter earth to make a safe return
just like artemis one
next missions
so far the human crude mission will
officially end however artemis ii also
contemplates sending tools and equipment
that will be fundamental for astronauts
landing on the moon the following
missions will carry more than 100
kilograms of equipment that will serve
future astronauts to collect lunar
samples perform measurements and
monitoring of the soil and repair
anything that will spoil another
critical piece of equipment for
astronauts will be a pressurized rover
like the one used by the apollo 17
astronauts to move around the lunar
surface more quickly and explore a
larger area in search of water deposits
in lunar craters artemis ii will also be
responsible for leaving on the moon a
series of equipment that will serve
astronauts to perform chemical tests and
determine which materials are on the
surface
and finally one of the most critical
equipment for the artemis project the
gateway
the gateway will be an outpost in orbit
around the moon that will provide vital
support for a long-term human return to
the lunar surface as well as a stopping
point for deep space exploration it is a
critical component of nasa's artemis
program
like the international space station the
gateway will remain orbiting the moon a
mandatory stop for all future astronauts
planning to land
because of this nasa has focused the
development of gateway on three initial
critical elements needed to support the
moon landing
one the aspect of power and propulsion
two the housing and logistics outpost
halo
three logistics capabilities
one power and propulsion element the
power and propulsion element ppe is a
high-powered 60 kilowatt solar electric
spacecraft that will provide power
high-speed communications attitude
control and orbital transfer
capabilities for the gateway it will be
one of the critical pieces for sending
ships to the lunar surface and the safe
return of astronauts to earth
two housing and logistics outpost halo
the halo will be the initial crew cabin
for astronauts visiting the gateway its
primary purpose is to provide basic life
support needs for visiting astronauts
after arriving from earth and preparing
to descend to the lunar surface
it will provide command control data
management capabilities energy storage
power distribution thermal control
communications tracking capabilities
environmental control and life support
systems to augment the orion spacecraft
and support crew members it will also
feature several docking ports for
visiting vehicles and future modules in
space for science and stowage it will
also have an architecture similar to the
international space station the iss to
make it easy for astronauts to adapt to
their systems
three deep space logistics
as astronauts prepare for missions to
the lunar surface they will need
deliveries of pressurized and insured
critical cargo scientific experiences
and supplies such as sample collection
materials and other items
in march 2020 nasa announced spacex as
the first u.s commercial supplier
under gateway's logistics services
contract to deliver cargo and other
supplies to gateway a delivery of
logistics services is planned for each
crewed artemis mission to the gateway
this will provide a regular shipment of
equipment and materials to ensure an
extended stay of humans on the moon
everything ready for artemis iii
it's been more than 50 years since
humans last went to the moon the human
race has always had a tireless desire to
explore the world an intrinsic need to
discover new things and reach the limits
of our abilities
the artemis project isn't just about
getting back to the moon it's not just
about establishing a base and harnessing
the natural resources of our natural
satellite it's so much more
it is a reason to join forces a reason
to cooperate among nations and achieve a
common goal it is the ultimate
representation of the ambition and
desire of humans to go further
the artemis ii missions will be the ones
that prepare everything for the arrival
of the next generation of astronauts who
will put their feet on the moon
the success of this stage is fundamental
not only for the artemis project but for
the entire human race
this is where the future will be sewn
the next rung of history and we will be
the art of it
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of the artemis project will consist of
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