In the United States from 1961 to 1972, NASA implemented the Apollo moon landing program. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union were the only countries to attempt lunar missions.

The surface of the moon

What is NASA's Artemis mission to the moon?

Text--The Island People

Editor--The Island People

The Apollo Program

The United States in 1961-1972, NASA (NASA) Implemented the Apollo moon landing program. In 1969, the "Apollo 11" spacecraft successfully landed on the moon aboard the and "Saturn V" carrier rocket , and Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the lunar surface. By December 1972, the United States had carried out a total of 7 manned lunar landing missions. Except for "Apollo 13" which returned midway due to malfunction, the other 6 missions were successful and a total of 12 astronauts were sent to the moon. It brought back about 382 kilograms of lunar samples and obtained a large number of scientific results.

Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon's surface.

However, as the space struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union ended, the United States' enthusiasm for lunar exploration gradually cooled down. It was not until 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. moon landing, that NASA announced the "Artemis" program , aiming to return to the moon.

In the past few years, the United States has continued to postpone its "Artemis" program due to various domestic reasons. In contrast, my country's lunar exploration project has been proceeding steadily, step by step, and in an orderly manner. On December 17, 2020, the "Chang'e-5" returner carrying lunar samples landed safely in a designated area in Inner Mongolia, my country, bringing a successful conclusion to the three-step development plan of "circulation, landing, and return" of my country's lunar exploration project.

China's lunar exploration project

It is reported that China's new generation manned launch vehicle and heavy-duty launch vehicle are in the development process. It is expected that by around 2030, it will have the ability to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, these rockets will not only be used for manned moon landing projects, but will also be used in Mars exploration, Jupiter exploration and other asteroid detection missions.

An upgraded version of the Apollo project - the "Artemis" project

Artemis is the moon goddess in ancient Greek mythology, and is the twin sister and brother of Apollo. Compared with its "brother", the "Artemis" project as its "sister" has been upgraded in terms of rocket power, spacecraft and flight plan.

The moon goddess Artemis and Apollo in ancient Greek mythology are twin siblings

At 8:33 local time on August 29 (20:33 Beijing time on August 29), NASA ( NASA) will execute the Artemis 1 launch mission at the Kennedy Space Center and conduct a flight test around the moon that will last for more than a month. This is the first comprehensive flight of the new moon landing rocket "Space Launch System" (SLS) and the "Orion" test module.

The "Space Launch Rocket System" (SLS) and the "Orion" test module complex on the launcher

SLS rocket is the most powerful spacecraft developed by NASA so far, and it is also designed to return to the moon after more than half a century. The basis of Project Artemis. "Orion" did not carry personnel on this flight and will not land on the moon, but the launch on the 29th is crucial to demonstrating the performance of SLS and "Orion". This is the first mission of NASA's Artemis lunar landing program, which is expected to carry astronauts back to the moon in 2025. And establishes a long-term presence on the lunar surface.

SLS rocket structure diagram and unmanned Orion spacecraft and orbit

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is as high as a 32-story building (98 meters) and weighs about 2,608 tons. The top is the "Orion" crew capsule. Compared with the "Saturn 5" rocket that carried out the Apollo moon landing mission half a century ago, the SLS rocket consists of four RS-25 liquid propellant engines and two five-stage solid propellant engines that can generate millions of pounds of thrust. Composed of booster , the rocket thrust can reach 4100 tons. Beyond the " Saturn 5 ", its low-orbit carrying capacity can reach 70 tons - 130 tons, and it can also send more than 27 tons of payload to the lunar orbit. After future upgrades, it will be increased to more than 46 tons, making it an active carrier for the world. The most capable super heavy launch vehicle .

Orion spacecraft

Left picture: The Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 12 spacecraft in 1969 Right picture: The 2022 Orion spacecraft Artemis program new lunar rocket

SLS rocket will be 39,400 kilometers per hour (24,500 miles per hour) to push the unmanned Orion spacecraft toward the moon. Orion's flight is supposed to last six weeks, from liftoff in Florida to descent in the Pacific Ocean. The extra-long mission - twice as long as the astronauts travel - is designed to test all systems.

It will take the Orion capsule nearly a week to reach the moon, 386,000 kilometers (240,000 miles) away. After orbiting the moon, the capsule will use the moon's gravity to swing and enter a distant orbit with an apogee of 61,000 kilometers (38,000 miles). This would put Orion 450,000 kilometers (280,000 miles) from Earth, further than Apollo , which was 400,727 kilometers (249,000 miles) away.

The big test for the Orion capsule came at the end of the mission, when Orion hurtled into the atmosphere at 40,000 kilometers per hour (25,000 miles per hour) and headed for the Pacific Ocean where it crashed. A large amount of heat will be generated with the atmosphere, which will test the capsule's heat shield. The heat shield uses the same materials as the Apollo capsules and can withstand reentry temperatures of 2,750 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit).

Nations' Journey to the Moon

In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union were the only countries to attempt lunar missions. Between them, the two Cold War rivals attempted at least 90 lunar missions, 40 of which were unsuccessful.

In the 1980s, no missions to the moon were launched.

In 1990, Japan entered the space race with its Hiten orbiter.

In the 2000s, China, India and the European Space Agency launched the first successful missions to the moon.

Since 1958, there have been a total of 70 successful lunar landing expeditions by aircraft from all over the world, including 32 by the United States, 25 by the Soviet Union, 1 by the European Union, 8 by China, 2 by Japan, and 2 by India.

There are not only new energy sources on the moon that attract all countries, but also Exploring the unknown vast universe and communicating with future civilizations are the continuous extension of human wisdom and our ultimate challenge. This is the end of this issue of

. Please leave your comments in the message area below. If you like this column, please press and hold to like and follow. See you in the next issue!