too much ambition for so little time

Artemis II has been successfully completedbut this has practically been the beginning of the Artemis missions. NASA’s goal is for a manned spacecraft to land on the Moon and, in the future, to build a lunar base for future expeditions. But for that it will be necessary to take another step in the development of space exploration technologies. Aware that it can’t do everything alone, NASA already has the support of private agencies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, but that can create complicated tensions.

Apollo vs Artemis. When humans first landed on the Moon aboard Apollo 11, they had a ship made up of two modules: a landing module and a command module. Once in lunar orbit, both modules were separated, so that one remained rotating around the Moon and the other carried out the lunar landing. Both had to be manned. Therefore, in all the missions in which the moon landing was achieved, there was an astronaut who did not set foot on the Moon.

In the case of Artemis, the goal is for the entire crew to land on the moon. They will travel in the Orion capsule, as they have done in Artemis II and, once in lunar orbit, they will pass to the lander, which will already be there.

SpaceX vs Blue Origin. Taking the above into account, it is clear that NASA’s next big step will be the construction of the lander. Orion has already more than proven that it works perfectly. In order to reach the planned dates on time, NASA asked for help from the two largest private space exploration companies: Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

In principle, the initial contract was received by SpaceXfor the construction of a lander called the Human Starship Landing System (HLS). However, there are some delays in production that have led NASA to consider canceling the contract and giving priority to Blue Origin’s proposals. That, logically, has generated many tensions between both companies.

Step by step for a moon landing. According to NASA’s schedule, the manned moon landing should occur in 2028. By the time Orion reaches lunar orbit, the lander should already be theredocked to the Lunar Gateway, the Lunar Station to be built through the collaboration of the American, European, Canadian and Japanese space agencies. During the time it remains docked until the arrival of Orion, the HLS will have to receive fuel several times, directly in orbit. When Orion arrives, it will also dock with the Lunar Gateway, so astronauts can transition from the ship to the lander. Everything will be ready for the moon landing.

Many steps and very little time. Although the manned moon landing is planned for the end of 2028, before refueling in orbit should be tested and, above all, carry out a complete uncrewed moon landing. It is important to check that it is safe before taking astronauts to the lunar surface. The first steps should be carried out in 2027. But both the Lunar Gateway and the HLS have experienced delays.

A way could be found to directly dock the HLS with the Orion spacecraft. In fact, Some tests have already been carried out on Earth successfully.. However, the delays that SpaceX is experiencing make it very difficult to meet the dates.

China on the heels. Although there are those who say that NASA has already won the lunar race against China, in reality the winner will be whoever takes its astronauts to the lunar surface first. NASA has taken its people to the orbit of our satellite, but China is working at a good pace. Its goal is to land on the moon in 2030. In principle, NASA would go faster, but delays could truncate its plans.

Maybe we should give up racing. In reality, it is more than proven that the greatest space successes are those that come from collaboration. All you have to do is see that, although it has not received the publicity it deserves, Europe has played a key role in the success of Artemis II.

The effort to turn lunar missions into a race between China and NASA may obscure the true objective. Demonstrate that humanity, wherever it comes from, is capable of taking that great leap that Neil Armstrong was already talking about in 1969. The best way to jump will always be as a team.

Images | NASA (edited)

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