NASA Artemis 2 Moonshot could start operating on February 5th.

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Houston is the ambitious mission of NASA for the first time this century to bring astronauts to the Moon to begin at the latest 2026. April, but it just can fly faster if everything is fine.

10 days of duration Artemis 2 A mission that NASA will fly four astronauts around the moon Orion The spacecraft could take off as early as February 5, today (September 23 Johnson Space Center (JSC).

“We have a front row location in history: we come back The moon After more than 50 years, Lakesha Hawkins, a NASA temporarily running deputy administrator of the association research systems, told reporters today at a press conference.

If Artemis 2 rises on February 5, it will be at night, NASA officials said. The space agency has about five days in February, March and April to start a flight. According to NASA, the latest possible date is April 26.

NASA will seek to press the previous part of the launch window, Hawkins said, but she stressed that the crew’s safety would encourage the time zone.

“We want to emphasize that security is our priority,” she said. “And yes when we work through these operational preparations when we finish stacking rocketWe continue to appreciate it to make sure we do everything safely. ”

Artemide 2, the first mission of NASA in the crew Artemis programwill run to the moon on the agency tower Space launcher system Megarocket (known as SLS) as a Vanguard flight for US crew to return to the moon. The mission will be led by NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman, pilot as a colleague at Spaceflyer Victor Glover. NASA Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen rounds the crew as a mission specialist.

Mission will fly a “free return” trajectory by sending Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon, which ensures their return to return to The land Without the lunar orbit, not to mention the surface touched.

“They go at least 5,000 nautical miles [9,260 kilometers] The moon has passed, which is much taller than the previous mission, said Jeff Radigan from JSC, the main Artemis 2 flight director. – So, the moon will look a little smaller.

Artemis 2 follows the first Artemis test flight: The Uncreased Artemis 1which 2022 November He released an Orion spacecraft to Lunar Orbit and successfully returned it to the ground for about four weeks later. Initially, Artemis 2 is expected to appear this year, but NASA pushed the mission to 2026 more strictly than expected Through your re -entry Earth’s atmosphere;

The Artemis 2 team has thoroughly investigated the problem and took steps to reduce the likelihood of heat shield problems in an upcoming mission, said Rick Henfling from the JSC, the LEAD Artemis 2 entrance flight director.

“We’ve done a lot of tests, and they all helped create this understanding of what happened to Char,” said Henfling about Artemis 1 heat panel data. “So the Artemis 2 trajectory we will fly will be one that will not intend to replicate the environment of the temperature that was favorable to the increased gas generation speed.”

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA’s Artemis 2 Launch Director, further explained Liquid drainage of hydrogen This “Artemis 1” launch should also be resolved (it has risen to the third test). The startup team made changes in the starter pallet and adjusted the fuel process to reduce the risk of such leaks, she said.

“During Artemide 1, we have learned a great deal,” said Blackwell-Thompson. “We learned the connection between the flow speed, the pressure and how those who manifest themselves or could have manifested into the leak.”

The SLS rocket built by the Artemis 2 Boeing is almost completed in the Kennedy Space Vehicle Assembly building in Florida, which is attached to the Northrop Gruumman strong rocket amplifiers, Blackwell-Thompson said. Orion capsule for flight and its adapter will be added in the coming weeks. NASA hopes to show a completely detailed Artemis 2 rocket in October.

Blackwell-Thompson and other NASA officials who have repeatedly spoke today stressed that Artemis 2, though crew, is still a test flight. Thus, the agency will learn a lot from that, working together to make astronauts safe and check as many mission goals as possible.

“The test flight has no exclusive goal; there are many of them,” said Radigan. “To name this mission completely successfully, we need to go to fly across the moon, safely bring the crew home and greet them back with open hands.”