Artemis 2: what is it?

This second mission of the Artemis program is also the first manned flight of the return program to the Moon. Contrary to Artemis 1which was an unmanned flight, Artemis 2 will carry a crew of three astronauts of the Nasa and one of theCanadian Space Agency.

The purpose of this mission is to test the functionality of the transport system, consisting of the launcher SLS and the Orion capsule, in operational manned flight configuration. As such, Orion will be equipped with oxygen tanks and an operational life support system that are not needed when the capsule is flying empty.

Like Artemis I, Orion’s second mission will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida by an SLS launch vehicle. Orion will be sent into a highly elliptical orbit around Earth. At its furthest point, the vehicle and crew will be more than 2,220 km from Earth.

A close flyby of the Moon at an altitude of some 7,500 kilometers

If, during Artemis 1, the upper stage of the SLS, the ICPS was used to send Orion into lunar orbit for this second mission, it is the service-module of Orion, provided by the European Space Agency which will take care of this task. From Earth orbit, the service module will ignite its engines to inject the capsule into translunar orbit. The crew is expected to fly up to 8,889 km beyond the Moon before spinning around and returning to Earth where it will splash down in the ocean. The mission will take a minimum of eight days and collect valuable flight test data.

Before leaving Earth orbit, Orion will test the proper functioning of the service module’s propulsion and attitude control system. This demonstration will consist of separating from the upper stage of the SLS and maneuvering around it so as to face it!