The Artemis I: Moon Mission by NASA

• On November 16, 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched its unmanned Artemis I mission to the Moon.

• The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida after several delays brought on by unforeseen technical issues and natural calamities that spanned two months.

About Artemis I Mission:

• NASA's unmanned Artemis I mission is a lunar mission.
• It is NASA's follow-up to the Apollo lunar missions from fifty years ago and is named after the sister of Apollo from Greek mythology.
• It will put the agency's Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the test.
• Since the Saturn V rockets that were employed in the 1960s and 1970s, the SLS is the largest new vertical launch system that NASA has developed.
• The first of several complicated missions to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon for many years to come is Artemis I.
• Prior to the first flight with crew aboard Artemis II, Artemis I's main objectives are to show Orion's systems in a spaceflight environment and to guarantee a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery.
• Even though it has a return-to-Earth target, unlike most Orbiter missions, it is still merely a lunar Orbiter mission.

What is the Mission of Artemis I all about?

• The launch of Artemis I marks the beginning of the new space age, which holds out the possibility of bringing humanity to new planets, enabling them to settle there and live, or maybe encounter extraterrestrial life.
• The CubeSats it will carry are equipped with instruments meant for specific investigations and experiments, including searching for water in all forms and for hydrogen that can be utilised as a source of energy.
• Biology experiments will be carried out, and the impact of deep space atmosphere on humans will be investigated through the effect on dummy ‘passengers’ onboard Orion.

What are the Upcoming Artemis Missions?

Artemis II:

• It will take off in 2024.
• Artemis II will have a crew aboard Orion and will be a test mission to confirm that all of the spacecraft’s systems will operate as designed when it has humans on board.
• However, the launch of Artemis II will resemble that of Artemis I. The Orion spacecraft will carry a four-person crew with it and ICPS make two Earth orbits before heading in the direction of the Moon.
• For the first time since the Apollo missions, astronauts are planned to go to the moon on board Artemis III, which is set to launch in 2025.

What are India's efforts to explore the moon?

First Chandrayaan

• The Chandrayaan project's first mission to the moon was Chandrayaan-1 from India.
• From the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC),Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, it was successfully launched in October 2008.
• On August 29, 2009, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost contact with Chandrayaan-1.

Chandrayaan-2:

• India's second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, includes a fully homegrown orbiter, lander (Vikram), and rover (Pragyan).
• The Vikram lander contains the Pragyan Rover.

Chandrayaan-3:

• The ISRO has unveiled Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission, which consists of a lander and a rover.