Artemis

Artemis 2 passes its life test and clears the path to the Moon

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The mission Artemis IIwhich aims fly over the Moon againdid not have the best of luck in its rehearsals before launch due to the fuel and a hydrogen leak. But now NASA can breathe easy, since the second general test with fuel of the gigantic SLS rocket It has been a resounding success. and opens the way for humanity to return to the Moon half a century later. Without a doubt. Between February 19 and 20, 2026, engineers from the US space agency managed to complete the loading sequence of propellants without serious incidents, stopping the countdown exactly at the expected moment: T-29 seconds. The doubts about the engineering team are left behind and an imminent launch window opens that could start as early as March 6. Master hydrogen. Filling a 98-meter-high rocket with more than 2.6 million liters of superfrozen fuel is no easy task in practice. That is why in the previous test, carried out on February 3, we saw how it had to be aborted when the clock read T-5:15. And the culprit was none other than NASA’s old enemy: liquid hydrogen leaks. It must be taken into account here that liquid hydrogen is an exceptionally efficient propellant, but tremendously elusive, since it requires cryogenic temperatures of -253 °C. This extreme temperature causes the materials shrink in the rocketfacilitating escapes and increasing safety risks for the crew. Although this is what NASA found during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022. The repair. For this second attempt, NASA technicians meticulously replaced the defective seals and filters and the truth is that the move went perfectly. And during this last test, the filling was completed normally and the exhaust controls worked wonderfully. One step closer. The success of this trial is essential so that the Artemis program is not further delayed and neither is everything that will come after it. If we put ourselves in context, the Artemis mission was scheduled for September 2025, but was delayed until spring 2026 due to technical problems in the heat shield, batteries or control system of the Orion capsule. A big blot on paper that NASA needed to make up for with some success like this. When will it be released? In this way, the space agency already has its sights set on the launch window that opens from March 6 to 30the most optimal being to do it between March 6 and 11. That is why if everything follows the planned plan, the Orion capsule will be launched on a free return trajectory on a trip of approximately 10 days around the Moon, without landing on the moon. The objective. On board will be four pioneers who will take over the Apollo missions: Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen. Its mission is not only historic because it is the first manned flight of the program, but because it will serve to validate all life support systems before the main course: Artemis III. A project that has its sights set on carrying out the first manned landing on the south pole of the Moon since 1972 and, above all, overtaking competing countries such as, for example, China, which makes very significant progress in the space race. Images | POT Pedro Lastra In Xataka | NASA has managed to grow lettuce in space. What he discovered next was not part of the plan

NASA had been refusing to allow its astronauts to carry iPhones for decades. For Artemis II you have made a historic decision

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Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, has announced an important change for astronauts: the crew will be allowed to carry their personal smartphones. The objective is simple, to allow both photographs and videos recorded during space missions to be shared. what has happened. The publication has been informal and outside the official NASA press page. Via X, Isaacman has revealed that the crew of Crew-12 and Artemis II you will be able to fly with “modern smartphones”. “NASA astronauts will soon fly with the latest smartphones, starting with Crew-12 and Artemis II. We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and videos with the world. Equally important, we are challenging legacy processes and enabling modern hardware for spaceflight on an accelerated timeline. This operational urgency will serve NASA well as we strive to achieve the highest value science and research in orbit and on the lunar surface. This is a small step in the right direction.” Without detailing models or limitations, it makes it quite clear that soon we will see more than one iPhone flying over a ship far from our planet. What was happening until now. Historically, NASA has only allowed Nikon cameras (a Japanese company with which it has had an agreement for more than a decade) to be brought on board. Initially with some of their DSLRs, and recently with the Nikon Z9, the latest generation mirrorless authorized for Artemis. Because. For decades, NASA has operated under an extremely strict security framework for any object boarding a manned spacecraft. The devices must not interfere with critical systems, their batteries have to meet very specific requirements to minimize the risk of fire, they cannot contain materials that can fragment in microgravity and they must pass certification processes associated with an exact hardware model. For the first time, the agency will allow the use of mobile phones on a manned mission certified by its own procedures, marking a significant shift in how NASA evaluates and accepts commercial technology on board. When. The departure of Artemis II, after some delayis scheduled for the month of March. After several dress rehearsals, NASA is not prepared to return to the Moon, because of old ghosts like the complexity of liquid hydrogen. It will not be the first time that a modern mobile phone travels to space, but it will be the first time that its use is authorized within a manned mission managed directly by NASA. Until now, mobile phones and tablets had flown on SpaceX missions under more flexible operating frameworks, serving as a background to evaluate their behavior during the mission. In Xataka | When the United States decided to go to the Moon, it did so no matter what the cost. And that included 60% of all its chips

Critical dress rehearsal leak forces NASA to delay Artemis II

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If we learned something with Artemis I in 2022 is that liquid hydrogen is possibly the biggest enemy of NASA’s patience in its missions. And in the last few hours the US space agency has confirmed what many of us feared after a difficult weekend: the launch of Artemis IIthe mission that must take astronauts around the Moon, officially delayed until March. An accumulation of errors. These days NASA had on its agenda to do a ‘general rehearsal’ for the launch of this new mission that aims to test its equipment to take the final leap: put man on Mars in the future. And everything seemed to be ready, with the astronauts in strict quarantine since January 23. But in the end, Florida’s weather reminded us again that it reigns supreme with freezing temperatures and strong winds that forced these plans to stop. Some specific limits. A priori, these adverse conditions should not be a problem for cutting-edge operation, but the reality is that the SLS rocket has very strict operating limits: it cannot safely load fuel if the temperature drops below 4.4ºC for more than 30 minutes. Something that eliminated the launch window that It was scheduled between February 6 and 7moving hope to February 8. The coup de grace. But if the weather was already a big problem, in the last few hours the last major inconvenience has arrived while retrying to refuel under more favorable conditions. It was none other than a leak of liquid hydrogen that was detected at the umbilical interface of the rear service mast while the test was being carried out. Something that has forced everything that was being done to stop, and logically to make decisions that are very hard. Safety first. Although the agency managed to complete many of the test objectives, the hydrogen concentration exceeded safety limits, forcing the rocket to be drained. Administrator Jared Isaacman has been blunt– Crew and vehicle safety is the top priority, so no launch window will be forced. A ‘dejà vu’. For fans of the Artemis show, this sounds painfully familiar. The situation is almost a carbon copy of what was experienced with Artemis I in 2022and although at that time it was not the weather, there were recurring technical failures such as propellant leaks and problems with the pressure fans that caused multiple cancellations of the general rehearsal. Because of those technical problems, they were forced to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for much more thorough checks, pushing the April launch to the end of August. Now the similarity lies in the complexity of liquid hydrogen, an ultracold and extremely difficult to contain fuel that remains the Achilles heel of these missions. What will happen now? For now, with all these problems behind us, the launch window that lasted until February 11 has been completely ruled out. This forces us to look for a new date that NASA aims for sometime in March 2026although without specifying a specific day. To do this, they must still analyze data and above all have a successful general rehearsal to validate the safety of the operation. As far as the astronauts are concerned, it no longer makes sense for them to remain quarantined at the Kennedy Space Center, so they will return to Houston until there is a new firm launch date. Images | POT In Xataka | Claude begins to seem unstoppable: NASA has already used him to plan routes for the Perseverance rover on Mars

What are the chances that Artemis II will take off for the Moon on February 7 and everything that NASA must validate before

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Since the Apollo 17 mission, in December 1972, humans have not returned to the Moon. It’s been 53 years since that last manned trip to the satellite, but that could soon change with Artemis II. Of course, it will not be a return to plant a flag and walk on the surface, as Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt did. To set foot on the Moon again (if the program continues as planned) We will still have to wait for Artemis III. What Artemis II proposes is something else: a manned lunar flybya large-scale validation mission and a return to Earth after testing a long list of critical systems. Technology has changed since the 1970s, and that makes this mission something special: not only because of what it represents on a symbolic level, but because of what it implies on a technical level. Artemis II is, in practice, the final exam before the moon landing. And hence the inevitable question: when is it released? As is often the case in the space sector, it is not enough to set a date on the calendar. The window depends on a combination of operational, logistical and meteorological factors, and the room for maneuver is more limited than it seems. Artemis II plays everything in very specific windows The first concept that should be clear is that of the launch window: the time interval during which a specific mission can take off. In the case of Artemis II, NASA has already published a calendar with 16 opportunities distributed between February and April. The first starts on Friday, February 6 at 9:41 p.m. (Eastern time in the United States), which in peninsular Spain is translated as Saturday the 7th at 03:41 in the morning. Artemis II release window schedule for early 2026 And those dates are not set at random. Artemis II requires millimeter orbital choreography: a lunar flyby trajectory, a translunar injection with narrow margins, a free return taking advantage of the satellite’s gravity, and a reentry profile that prioritizes safety and fault tolerance. With such a level of demand, it would be strange to have a broad and flexible calendar. In practice, these missions always move within fairly limited launch opportunities. Artemis II technical calendar: opening of each window, local and UTC times, and duration of each launch opportunity But the orbital schedule is not the only bottleneck. The launch complex itself imposes relevant restrictions. At 39B, the same one from which the Saturn Vthe spherical tanks used to store cryogenic propellant allow a limited number of attempts. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are loaded into the core stage and upper stage on the same day of launch. And if the takeoff is canceled, you cannot try it again the next day as if nothing had happened: you have to wait. at least 48 hourss to try the process again. Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Hammock Koch, next to the Orion capsule at the Kennedy Space Center (August 8, 2023) If today there is talk of a near launch it is because the mission has already been closing important milestones. The SLS rocket and the Orion capsule are already on the launch pad. They arrived last January 17 after a slow transfer, of about 12 hours, from the Vehicle Assembly Building. From there, the teams began the tasks of connection and integration with the terrestrial facilities, a job that was as inconspicuous as it was decisive so that the next steps could progress smoothly. The big dot marked in red on the calendar is the “Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR)“, the general fuel loading rehearsal. It is, basically, a complete simulation of the launch day. The team positions itself as if it were the real takeoff and executes the filling procedure with the same level of detail: some 2.7 million liters of cryogenic propellantsbetween liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, following the schedule that will be used in the final launch. Of course, the RS-25 engines will not start: the test will stop before that phase. NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida NASA has explained in a recent statement who plans to take this test on Saturday, January 31. He also assures that the preparations are going as expected and that they have even managed to advance some tasks. But here experience weighs: the WDR of Artemis I, initially planned for April 2022ran into difficulties and was not completed successfully until June. That delay ended up directly affecting the launch schedule, and is a reminder that, at this point, every detail counts. Therefore, at this point, the scenario still allows for several twists. If any problems appear during WDR, NASA could choose to postpone it, repeat it, or even organize additional rehearsals. There is also a possibility that, after completing the test, it will decide to move the SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to perform additional work before returning to the ramp. If the WDR is completed successfully, the next step will be a flight readiness review in early February. At that meeting, the management team will evaluate the availability of all systems involved: flight hardware, ground infrastructure, and launch, flight, and recovery equipment. Only after passing that review will an official date be announced. With all this on the table, the first slot on February 6 (already February 7 on the peninsula due to the time difference) appears as the first real great opportunity. QBut just because it exists doesn’t mean it will be used.. Even with everything aligned, NASA could decide to jump directly into one of the next planned gaps in the schedule. The good news is that once the WDR is run, we will have a much clearer map of what can happen. And there is still the factor that has broken perfect plans the most times: time. In a launch of this type, the weather is not a nuance, it is a filter. The rules … Read more

Artemis II enters decisive territory

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There are times when a space program stops being a promise and becomes a tangible countdown. Artemis II just reached that point. The mission enters the realm of controlled preparation of decisions that are no longer easily or costlessly reversed. It is not yet the launch, nor even a set date, but it is the step that requires demonstrating that everything designed, integrated and tested over the years can work. The concrete advance arrived at the weekend with a movement as slow as it is symbolic. The Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft completed its transfer from the Vehicle Assembly Building to ramp 39B of the Kennedy Space Center, a journey of about 6.5 km that took twelve hours. The operation concluded with the placement of the assembly on the pedestals of the launch platform, a step that enables the start of activities. The test that puts Artemis II against reality The next step is the Wet Dress Rehearsalthe test that conditions everything that comes after. In this test, NASA explains that the teams must demonstrate the ability to load a large amount of cryogenic propellants, carry out a launch countdown test and practice the safe removal of rocket fuel without astronauts on board. The countdown will stop shortly before the simulated takeoff. While preparations are being finalized, work on the ramp is progressing on several fronts simultaneously. NASA details that the teams have connected purge lines to maintain rocket and spacecraft cavities in adequate conditions, have enabled communications with the Launch Control Center and have carried out movement tests of the crew access arm. The emergency evacuation system has also been connected, with basket release practices, and Orion and various elements of the SLS have been turned on to verify their response in the launch environment. With those tasks underway, the focus shifts to the realistic mission schedule. NASA notes that the launch window opens as early as Friday, February 6, but stresses that the program direction will evaluate the preparation after the Wet Dress Rehearsal before selecting a day. In parallel, the choice also depends on external conditions: the position of the Moon for the planned trajectory and the security requirements that force Orion to re-enter within very specific margins to protect the heat shield. The caution surrounding this phase is not gratuitous. Artemis II is the program’s first manned mission and comes after a long development, marked by technical reviews and schedule slippages. During the campaign of Artemis I, The loading of cryogenic propellants was marked by problems maintaining adequate temperatures and hydrogen leaks in several attempts. Corrections and procedures learned then have now been incorporated, but this section serves precisely to verify that these solutions work consistently in a vehicle intended to carry people on board. Unlike the next mission in the program, Artemis II is a verification flight, not direct exploration. The planned profile includes several elliptical orbits around the Earth, a push towards the moon and a flyby without landing on the moon, lasting approximately ten days. This scheme will confirm that Orion can sustain a crew in deep space, validate systems such as life support and check communications and navigation for that environment, with the support of the Deep Space Network, before preparing the jump to Artemis III. With all this work already concentrated on the ramp, Artemis II now has more than just an administrative advance at stake. The loading test and subsequent review will determine whether the system is truly ready to take on a manned flight beyond Earth’s orbit. If problems arise, NASA is considering the option of returning the rocket to the assembly building for additional work, a reminder that there is still room for maneuver even if it impacts the schedule. Images | NASA (1, 2, 3, 4) In Xataka | Faced with the need to look for weapons against superbacteria, science has opted to send viruses into space

NASA has just left ESA with Artemis

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He Historic Tijeretazo to NASA On the part of the United States government has a clear victim: Europe. If Congress approves the cuts proposed by the Trump administration, the European Space Agency, one of NASA’s most faithful partners, will remain alone and with invoices payable in the most important projects that it shares with its American homologue. Context. The budget proposal of the White House for fiscal year 2026 includes a brutal cut for NASA, which would go from 24,800 to 18.8 billion dollars of annual budget, 25% less. The cuts are particularly primed With NASA’s scientific branchbut the United States lunar program and its partners have also placed upside down. He Artemis programthat Trump himself promoted in his first term, will remain in the hands of the private industry from 2027 with the cancellation of the SLS rocket and the Orion ship. The Lunar Gateway station, in which several international partners participate, has completely discarded. A slap to ESA. Although It was seen coming For a long time (Boeing herself He warned it to its employees at the beginning of the year), the cancellation of the SLS/ORION system has direct consequences for the European Space Agency. ESA is responsible for the European Service Module (ESM) that provides propulsion, energy and life support to the Orion ship and its crew. The first ESM was used in the mission without crew Artemis I. Two others will be used in the Artemis II and III missions. But in February 2021, ESA awarded Airbus a contract of 650 million euros for the manufacture of three additional modules (ESM-4, 5 and 6), which will now run out of use. The varapalo does not end there. Lunar Gateway was not an exclusively American project either. The Lunar Orbital Stationwhose launch was planned for 2027, was NASA designed In collaboration with the space agencies of Japan (Jaxa), Canada (CSA), United Arab Emirates and ESA itself. Of course, many of its components were in an advanced phase of development or manufacturing. Thales Alenia Space manufactured in Turin (Italy) The primary structure of the halo module, which was already in the United States for its final equipment. In addition, the ESA had in a test phase a model of Lunar I-Hab (A habitat type module developed in collaboration with Jaxa), and in the preliminary design phase the refueling and telecommunications module Lunar View (formerly known as Esprit). And the astronauts? These multimillionaires European investments, now in the air, They were currency to guarantee the presence of Astronauts of the ESA in the missions to the moon. The architecture of lunar missions will change completely from Artemis III. Taking into account that Artemis I was a mission without crew, that Artemis II has a Canadian on board as a non-American crewman, and that Artemis III is designed for NASA They step on the moon againIt is not clear at what time we will see Europeans step on the moon. After certifying for extravehicular activities at the International Space Station, Pablo Álvarez, The Spanish astronaut of the ESAhe planned to start his lunar training to use the future Gateway station. NASA looks at the private sector. The justification of the White House for this drastic change of course is “to return to the moon before China and put a man on Mars” (the references to place the first woman in Mars were eliminated from the NASA website as part of the measures to erase the initiatives of diversity, equity and inclusion). To do this, It will allocate 7,000 million dollars to a lunar program focused on “commercial systems that allow more ambitious later lunar missions.” All looks point to the Spacex Starship system and the Blue Moon Moon Module from Blue Origin. In addition, they reserve $ 1 billion to start a new manned program to Mars, Following Elon Musk’s recommendationswhose vision shares the future NASA administrator and also Jared Isaacman businessman. An approach that prioritizes the speed and reduction of costs through the private sector, leaving aside the traditional international collaboration models based on contributions from other agencies. Who looks at? The general director of ESA, Josef Aschbacher, has responded with the expected diplomacy. In A statementHe explains that follow -up meetings with NASA are already being held to evaluate the impact of cuts. “From here at the end of the year, ESA will celebrate the Council meeting at the ministerial level, determined to further enhance the role of Europe in space,” says Aschbacher, adding NASA to NASA in a subtle polish that that “undertakes not only to be a reliable partner, but also robust and desirable.” Will perhaps open a closer collaboration with China? China, of course, is willing to become “the new NASA.” Ha Open to international collaborators The tianwen-3 mission of marcian samples and the Robotic mission Chang-e’8 to the moon, perhaps aware that the power vacuum that the US leaves can be filled with a greater opening. Image | Halo Module Structure of the Lunar Gateway Station (Tales, ESA) In Xataka | Boeing has lost: NASA will cancel the SLS rocket and look for a cheaper alternative to colonize the moon and Mars

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