According to Space.com report, it is proposed to send three American and one Canadian astronauts in the Artemis 2 mission. They won’t land on the moon, they’ll simply circle round it and return. The mission is scheduled to launch in September 2025, however this month NASA introduced that it has been postponed to April 2026.
The plan to land astronauts on the Moon will come to fruition in the Artemis 3 mission, however NASA has postponed that too to the finish of 2026 or mid-2027.
What is the reason for the delay?
The reason for the delay of Artemis mission is being attributed to the warmth defend of Orion spacecraft. It is mentioned that it has an issue, which NASA got here to know about in 2022, when the Artemis 1 mission returned to Earth.
What’s the drawback with the warmth defend?
NASA had reported this month that when the Orion capsule was going out and in of the environment beneath skip entry, warmth collected inside the outer layer of the warmth defend. This created gases which acquired trapped in the warmth defend. This elevated the stress in the defend and triggered cracks in the outer layer.
NASA says that it doesn’t need to compromise with the security of astronauts. Although Orion spacecraft will nonetheless be utilized in the Artemis mission, another trajectory will be used for reentry. NASA needs to remedy this drawback fully by delaying the mission.
