Artemis I is a flight test NASA will conduct to launch Space Launch System and fly the Orion spacecraft on a mission around the Moon and back to Earth. All the systems that make up this deep space exploration program to return humans to the Moon will be tested together as part of this first flight test.
This mission will send a human-rated spacecraft farther than ever before and, if successful, will pave the way for future missions to the lunar surface.
Artemis I Mission Overview
Artemis I is the first mission of the new Artemis program, and as a test flight, it is uncrewed. Crews will monitor the performance of SLS through several maneuvers, including translunar injection, ICPS separation, and correction burns.
Our destination is the Moon, where Orion will enter distant retrograde orbit. After a couple of weeks in orbit, Orion will depart the Moon and begin the journey home. The Orion spacecraft will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after traveling over one million miles. The mission will last 25 days, 11 hours, and 36 minutes.
Artemis I will be the farthest a human-supporting spacecraft will have flown from Earth, laying the groundwork for NASA’s plans for deep space exploration.
Orion Spacecraft Objectives
Orion has three main parts: the crew module, the service module, and the launch abort system. The crew will live and work in the crew module, the service module provides power, propulsion, and thermal control to the spacecraft, and the launch abort system keeps the crew safe during a launch anomaly, pulling the spacecraft away from the rocket in an emergency.
Designed to carry astronauts to deep space, testing out the capabilities of the Orion spacecraft is one of the mission objectives for Artemis I. During this flight, the navigation, communication, and propulsion systems will undergo rigorous testing.
Critical performance tests include ICPS separation, propulsion to the Moon where the spacecraft will conduct flybys just 60 miles from the surface, another maneuver to enter distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, an engine fire to leave the Moon and return to Earth, and then a final test as Orion reenters the Earth’s atmosphere, deploys parachutes, and safely lands in the Ocean.
Secondary Payloads Onboard Orion
About two hours after launch, the ICPS will separate from the Orion spacecraft and deploy ten science or tech based CubeSats. Some of the CubeSats will remain in orbit around the Moon, while others will travel further into deep space. The experiments they conduct will inform the future of space travel and support human exploration in deep space.
In addition to the CubeSats, several tech demonstrations related to human survival and deep space communication will be onboard the Orion spacecraft. Three passengers, in the form of mannequins, will don tech demonstrations for the duration of the flight. A new video communication system and virtual assistant, named Callisto, from Alexa and Oracle is installed on Orion and awaiting flight.
CubeSats flying on Orion:
LunIR– Advanced infrared imaging of the Moon’s surface, provided by Lockheed Martin
LunaH-Map– A Neutron spectrometer will create high fidelity maps of near surface hydrogen in craters and regions near the lunar South Pole. Provided by Arizona State University
OMOTENASHI– The smallest lunar lander that will study the lunar surface and environment. Provided by JAXA
Lunar IceCube– An infrared spectrometer that will search for water and other volatiles on the surface of the Moon. Provided by Morehead State University.
CuSP– A deep space weather station that will measure particles and magnetic fields. Provided by SWRI
NEA Scout– A solar sail propelled CubeSat that will travel to a near-Earth asteroid to take photographs of its surface.
BioSentinel– A CubeSat carrying single celled yeast in order to detect, measure, and compare any deep space radiation in the cells over long periods of time. Provided by Ames Research Center
EQUULEUS– A CubeSat to image the Earth’s plasmasphere from the Earth-Moon LaGrange 2 point. Provided by University of Tokyo
Team Miles– A propulsion demonstration that uses plasma thrusters. Provided by NASA’s Deep Space Derby
ArgoMoon– An advanced optics and software imaging system that will observe the ICPS. Provided by ESA/ASI and ArgoTec
Launch and Rocket Details
The next launch attempt of Artemis I is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16th at 1:04 a.m. EST with a two hour launch window. The launch countdown will begin on Monday, November 14th, at 1:24 a.m. as teams continue to work on SLS following minor damage it sustained while it sat on the pad during Hurricane Nicole.
NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, will launch the Orion spacecraft to the Moon from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The launch vehicle consists of the core stage, two solid rocket boosters, and the Orion Spacecraft with the ICPS.
Mission Timeline and Journey to the Moon
The Artemis I journey to the Moon has several milestones necessary to lay the groundwork for future crewed missions to deep space. Soon after launch the ICPS will perform a perigee raise maneuver in order to raise Orion’s altitude to keep Orion from reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. After Orion orbits the Earth, the ICPS will conduct a trans-lunar injection burn to pull Orion away from Earth’s gravitational pull and put it on trajectory to the Moon.
As Orion approaches the Moon, it will conduct a burn, known as the outbound powered flyby, taking Orion close to the surface of the Moon in order to use the Moon’s gravitational force and send Orion into a lunar distant retrograde orbit. Orion will remain in distant retrograde orbit for several days before it conducts another service module burn, the return powered fly by burn, to take it back to near the surface of the Moon for a gravity assist. Orion will now be on a path back to Earth for reentry.
The final milestone for Orion will be entry and splashdown, where Orion will separate from the service module and align itself for reentry using the reaction control system engines. Orion will conduct a reentry maneuver that has never been done before with a human rated spacecraft when it enters the upper atmosphere and then skips before reentering Earth’s atmosphere, descending into the Pacific Ocean. Orion’s heatshield allows it to do this safely despite exuding tremendous energy. Finally, Orion’s 11 parachutes further slow down the spacecraft to 17 mph ahead of splashdown.
Return and Reentry to Earth
The Artemis I mission ends with a safe return to Earth after undergoing a fast and dangerous reentry and splashdown. Testing all the systems necessary to bring the spacecraft home is integral to sending crew on future missions to the Moon. Artemis I is on a trajectory that will see it land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where a recovery ship led by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will secure and recover the capsule, bringing it onboard.
Michael Galindo contributed to this piece.
