Sweatpants & Science | We’re Going to the Moon!
Last month, in writing about the inaugural International Moon Day, I discussed the Artemis program. Named for the goddess of the Moon and, appropriately, Apollo’s twin sister—a nod to the previous lunar program—Artemis is going to take humans back to the moon!It’s HAPPENING! Like, on Monday. This coming Monday. I’m so freaking excited!
This mission is a test of the SLS (the first rocket made to carry humans beyond low-earth orbit since Saturn V) and its integrated Orion space capsule. NASA is specifically looking at Orion’s function in space flight, its ability to withstand reentry, and making sure it can splashdown precisely and be recovered safely.The Artemis 1 mission will take 42 days, and it will allow the Orion space capsule to orbit the Earth before starting its several-day journey to the Moon.
Orion will maintain that orbit for roughly 6 days before using its engine and the Moon’s gravity to slingshot Earthward at 25,000 miles an hour (11 kilometers per second). Temperatures during reentry will reach somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celcius). NASA estimates that the total distance traveled will exceed 1.3 million miles.In December, it will be 50 years since the launch of the last Apollo mission. This is an historic return to an entirely different world. Along with reigniting the hope that space exploration inspires in so many of us, the Artemis program promises to work toward diversity and inclusion. NASA declared that the Artemis program “will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon” and the Launch Director stated that the next boots to step on the surface of the Moon will belong to a woman and a person of color.It is fitting, then, that the mission kicking off the journey to fulfilling those promises is bookended by Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and Melissa Jones, the first women in NASA’s history to serve as Launch Director and Landing and Recovery Director, respectively.
It is fitting, then, that the mission kicking off the journey to fulfilling those promises is bookended by Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and Melissa Jones, the first women in NASA’s history to serve as Launch Director and Landing and Recovery Director, respectively. (You had to know I was gonna)Most of these venues will include coverage of the prelaunch briefings on Saturday (11:00am and 2:30pm EDT) and Sunday (9:00am EDT). Launch day coverage begins at 12:00am on Monday with the fueling of the SLS. At 8:33am EDT, the two-hour launch window will open. Live coverage will be ongoing throughout the day and into late afternoon, concluding with the first views of Earth from Orion as it makes its way toward the Moon.You can find live coverage from NASA at:
NASA will also broadcast the launch in Spanish. That broadcast “will include interviews with Hispanic members of the mission and live commentary” and will begin at 7:30am EDT on Monday. It will be available on NASA en español’s Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. The Spanish broadcast will wrap up roughly 15 minutes after liftoff; coverage will then be accessible through NASA en español’s social media accounts.I want to pass on this joy and excitement to you. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the beginning of a new era in our relationship with space and the worlds that surround us!Let’s look at the Moon with renewed wonder and hope; let’s relish this moment of joy together.Lead photo by István Mihály