·NASA Moon Rocket Space Launch System (SLS) is the top priority for the United States to return to the moon and even land on Mars. SLS is currently the launch vehicle with the largest thrust in the world. Several major configurations are developed in stages. Once the development is completed, SLS can allow astronauts to begin exploring destinations deep in the solar system.
On November 16, Eastern Time, at the 39B launch pad of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the strongest launch vehicle in history, NASA's ( space launch system (SLS), was launched for the first time, carrying out the unmanned flight test mission "Artemis 1", and the Orion spacecraft started its journey around the moon.
National chief scientific communication expert in space exploration technology Pang Zhihao told Peng Zhihao to Peng News (www.thepaper.cn) that one of the biggest highlights of this launch is the first flight of SLS, which is the top priority for the United States to return to the moon and even land manned on Mars. SLS is currently the world's largest thrust launch vehicle. It uses some space shuttle technology and draws on the development ideas of the American God of War launch vehicle. Therefore, the SLS' thrust is greater than that of the Saturn V rocket. Several major configurations have been developed in stages, alleviating technical and financial pressure.
One of the most important tasks of "Artemis 1" is to test the SLS rocket. Whether it can successfully affect the subsequent development of plans such as "Artemis II" and "Artemis III". NASA plans to develop the lunar space station "Moon Portal" in lunar orbit, using SLS rockets or commercial rocket launch components to assemble in space.
Future astronauts will take Orion spacecraft and take SLS rockets to orbit on the moon. The Orion spacecraft will dock with the "Moon Portal", and astronauts will transfer to the human landing system to explore the moon's surface. "Manned landing on Mars may also start from the lunar space station, which is more economical, because the gravity of space is very small, so there is no need for a large thrust rocket from that point on," said Pang Zhihao.
From the Apollo Moon Landing Project to the "Artemis" plan Return to the Moon
On NASA's official website, the 5 reasons for returning to the Moon are: verifying the technology, capabilities and business paths required for a series of future exploration plans, including exploring Mars; understanding the origin and history of the Earth, the Moon and the Solar System through research on the Moon; expanding the influence of the United States' global economic , while establishing American leadership on the Moon and showing the existence of the United States; broadening trade and international partners; and inspiring the next generation to devote themselves to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union set off the first hike of human lunar exploration. During this period, the Soviet Union failed to launch four N1 heavy launch vehicles for the moon landing. "The United States' Saturn V rocket was successfully launched, and the United States took the lead in the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and manned moon landing. Later, the Soviet Union changed its direction and went to space station ."
Saturn V is an heavy launch vehicle built by NASA. It was used in the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s and was also used to launch Sky Laboratory program . The first Saturn V launched Apollo 4 in 1967. In July 1969, the Apollo 11 mission launched by Saturn V sent astronauts to the moon for the first time, completing the goal set by former US President John Kennedy in 1961, and humans realize their dream of landing on the moon.
Saturn V launch vehicle.
1972, the Apollo 17 mission returned to Earth, and the Apollo moon landing plan was all over. The Saturn V Rockets were also shelved indefinitely due to the sudden suspension of Apollo's plan. However, the Apollo moon landing program has successfully carried out six manned moon landings in the past 12 years, and 12 astronauts have landed on the moon.
Entering the 21st century, the second lunar exploration boom has emerged. For nearly 20 years, NASA has been trying to build a huge new rocket. In 2004, NASA announced the "God of War 5" rocket plan as part of its "Constellation Plan" to return to the moon in 2020.
But for a period of time, NASA has been swaying between the two destinations of the Moon and Mars. It is impossible to determine whether to land on Mars first or return to the Moon. NASA cannot afford the huge expenses required to carry out two projects at the same time.
Later, the "Constellation Plan" was cancelled, and the United States emphasized the importance of going to Mars. Until Trump was elected as the president of the United States, he placed his return to the moon in a more important position. In 2019, he asked Congress to add $1.6 billion to NASA to achieve its goal of re-landing the moon by 2024.
"Artemis" replaces "Constellation Plan". NASA hopes to return to the moon through the "Artemis" plan, sending the first woman and the first person of color to the surface of the moon, paving the way for a long-term residence on the moon and sending people to Mars. However, some sub-items in the "Constellation Project" were retained, such as the Orion spacecraft survived the transition, and the five-stage solid rocket booster was originally part of the "God of War 1" rocket, but it found a new life in the SLS.
According to space.com, the U.S. Congress proposed more than a decade ago that NASA built a new rocket SLS for deep space exploration, requiring NASA to use traditional hardware such as solid rocket boosters from the space shuttle.
In 2014, NASA announced that its strongest launch vehicle SLS in history had passed strict critical review and officially entered the construction stage from design. The first flight was set in 2017, but the first flight was repeatedly postponed.
NASA Moon Rocket SLS.
This year, NASA originally planned to carry out wet rehearsal tests from April 1 to 3 local time, which is the last important test before the launch of the "Artemis 1" unmanned lunar mission. But the test process is full of twists and turns, not only was it hit by four lightning strikes, but it also encountered liquid hydrogen leakage.
In mid-April, NASA announced that it would evacuate the SLS rocket on the Kennedy Space Center 39B launch pad and transport it back to the rocket assembly building for various repairs, replace the faulty upper-stage check valve , and repair the liquid hydrogen leakage problem. By early June, the SLS and Orion spacecraft set off from the Rocket Assembly Building again for the 39B launch pad for testing.
is scheduled to be restarted on November 16 before the launch, the "Artemis 1" mission has also been postponed many times. NASA abandoned two launch attempts due to temperature sensor failures in late August and liquid hydrogen leaks at the interface between the rocket and mobile launcher in early September. Affected by Hurricane Ian, on September 26, engineers withdrew the moon-landing rocket from the launch pad to the rocket assembly building.
The top priority for the United States to return to the moon: SLS is currently the world's largest thrust rocket
"The United States develops a heavy launch vehicle, not only to return to the moon, but also to carry manned landing on Mars. The United States' Apollo moon landing ended in 1972, and the United States has repeatedly returned to the moon or landed on Mars many times, but it has not been done. Now after years of development, it has finally come to the time for its first launch, so it has attracted worldwide attention." Pang Zhihao said.
NASA Moon Landing Rocket SLS.
SLS is the most powerful super heavy launch vehicle ever developed by NASA for deep space exploration, and it is also the first exploration-class rocket built by NASA for human space travel since the Saturn 5 rocket. NASA said it is the only rocket that can send Orion spacecraft, astronauts and cargo directly to the moon in a single mission.
"SLS is the top priority for the United States to return to the moon and even land on Mars by manned people." Pang Zhihao introduced that SLS is currently the world's largest thrust carrier rocket. "Not only has strong low-Earth orbit carrying capacity, but also the strongest Earth-Moon transfer orbit carrying capacity, which is stronger than the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket."
He said that SLS adopts some space shuttle technology and draws on the development ideas of the American God of War launch vehicle, so the thrust of SLS is greater than that of the Saturn V rocket. Several major configurations have been developed in stages, alleviating technical and financial pressure.
In order to meet the future demand for deep space missions, SLS will evolve into an increasingly powerful configuration. The core stage of each SLS rocket is equipped with 4 RS-25 engines.
The first SLS rocket model Block 1 can send more than 27 tons of payloads to orbits outside the moon.The Rocket is about 98 meters high and has a take-off mass of 5.75 million pounds (about 2,608 tons), and can generate 8.8 million pounds (about 3,992 tons) of maximum thrust during launch and ascending, 15% larger than the Saturn V Rocket. The "Artemis 1" mission is to use this configuration to perform launch missions.
SLS's Block 1B manned rocket has a capacity of 38 tons, and a single launch can carry the Orion manned spacecraft and large cargo needed to support the persistent existence on the moon. The Block 2 model, another configuration of the SLS rocket, will become NASA's main carrier for delivering cargo to the moon, Mars and other deep space destinations, with a capacity of more than 46 tons.
NASA said that once development is completed, SLS will allow astronauts to start exploring destinations deep in the solar system, including human moon and Mars exploration missions, as well as robots' scientific missions, traveling to the moon, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter , etc.
Pang Zhihao believes that the first flight of NASA's lunar rocket SLS is of great significance to the United States' return to the moon and even manned landing on Mars. The Orion spacecraft has been tested in Earth orbit. One of the most important tasks of "Artemis 1" is to test the SLS rocket. Whether it can successfully affect the development of subsequent plans such as "Artemis 2" and "Artemis 3".
builds the lunar space station, becoming a lunar transfer station, and becomes an astronaut to and from the lunar transit station
In the "Artemis" plan, the "Artemis 1" mission is an unmanned flight test, launching the Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon and returning to Earth in December. The Artemis 2 mission is the first manned flight of Artemis, which will send astronauts to fly around the moon in 2024. The Artemis 3 mission will be carried to the moon again in 2025 and landed on the moon with a human landing system. This time, it will create the history of women walking on the moon, and it is also the second time that humans have set foot on the moon since the NASA Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
"Artemis's moon landing method is different from Apollo's plan." Pang Zhihao said that NASA plans to develop the "Moon Portal" of the lunar orbit space station in the lunar orbit. This lunar space station is equivalent to a springboard. "Send astronauts to the space station to work first, and land on the surface of the moon as needed, and then return to the space station after completing the mission." Adopting the new moon landing method is more efficient and cheaper, "It is also convenient to go to the surface of the moon. You can go down at any time after the space station is finished and come up after the work on the surface of the moon."
In June this year, NASA's "Technical Operation and Navigation Experiment of Earth-Moon Autonomous Positioning System" (CAPSTONE) satellite took off on an "electronic" rocket. The cube satellite, the size of a microwave oven, weighs about 25 kilograms and is worth $32.7 million, arrived in the lunar orbit in November to test orbit stability. On the same orbit, NASA will build a "moon portal" and become a transit station for astronauts to and from the moon.
NASA will use SLS rockets or commercial rockets to launch the "Moon Portal" components for assembly in space. The "Moon Portal" is also a key platform to support future Mars exploration. It will have a variety of capabilities for continuous exploration and research in deep space, including providing docking ports for various visiting spacecraft, providing astronauts with space for living and working, and conducting scientific research in the fields of solar physics, human health and life sciences .
Pang Zhihao introduced that the United States plans to start cooperation with other countries in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2028. In the future, astronauts will take Orion spacecraft and take SLS rockets to orbit on the moon. The Orion spacecraft will dock with the "Moon Portal", and astronauts will transfer to the human landing system to explore the moon's surface. "Manned landing on Mars may also start from the lunar space station, which is more economical, because space gravity is very small, and no large thrust rockets are needed from that."
NASA will select the area near the South Pole of the Moon as the potential area for the "Artemis 3" mission astronauts to land on the moon, and select the SpaceX starship as the human landing system to transport astronauts from the lunar orbit to the surface of the moon during the mission. “The Artemis plan is not like Apollo’s moon landing, and is developed for political purposes at all costs."Pang Zhihao said that unlike the Apollo moon landing plan, commercial forces have joined the return to the moon plan. "Artemis" plans to launch commercial lunar probes to allow commercial companies to play a role in it.
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