Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

The original title: "manned landing on the moon is no longer the exclusive game in the United States."

The NASA lunar rocket, which dragged on for two months, was finally launched, but the dream of landing on the moon again is not just for the United States. Many people may have the same dream:

Maybe one day we can go out of the earth, set foot on the surface of other planets in the solar system, build outposts that can support large-scale habitation, travel to more distant galaxies and explore far-reaching space.

That future is still a long way off, but in the 1960s, mankind took the first step through the Apollo moon landing program.

Today, 60 years later, the United States has finally taken the second step:

After two months of delays caused by several technical accidents and missed windows, NASA NASA finally completed the first rocket launch of the Artemis manned moon landing program at around 1:48 local time on Wednesday November 16 in Houston, sending an unmanned spacecraft out of the atmosphere.

Image source: the NASA launch was originally scheduled for August 29, but due to cooling problems with the rocket's No. 3 engine on that day, NASA decided to use this incident to collect more data for later use, canceling the launch. After that, the situation did not improve much, and after a full five days, the problem was still not completely solved, and at the second launch window that Saturday, there was another leak in the rocket fuel load.

After that, Artemis continued to ask questions and missed window after window.

Fortunately, after two months, all the problems were finally solved, and the rocket was successfully launched.

As of press time, the spacecraft has successfully separated from the rocket and traveled to the moon at a speed of up to 5600 mph.

Image source: NASA in the next few days, the spacecraft will use the gravitational slingshot effect to break out of Earth's orbit, fly to the moon, enter its orbit, complete a series of scheduled test movements and scientific observation missions, and then return to Earth.

Source: NASA, just as Artemis, the goddess of the moon, is the sister of the sun god Apollo. NASA's latest plan is also a spiritual continuation of the famous Apollo mission to the moon in the last century.

Since the first moon landing of Armstrong and Aldrin in 1969 and the last successful moon landing of Apollo 17 at the end of 72, man has not set foot on the moon for a full 50 years.

This lunar landing is even more radical: NASA not only wants to return its astronauts to the moon, but also hopes to establish a permanent base on the moon, laying the key foundation for a future landing on Mars and more complex and far-reaching space exploration missions.

But the current situation is very different from when the Apollo program was launched 60 years ago. Today, the United States is no longer the only space technology superpower with the ambition of manned landing on the moon.

Not only does China already have a working space station, but not long ago, officials announced plans to land on the moon and confirmed that they would be able to land a man on the moon within a decade. At the same time, Russia, India and other space powers are also eyeing the moon covetously.

The moon is going to be very busy next.

/ full details of Artemis 1 / Artemis 1 (Artemis I) successfully ignited and launched from launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

The launch created two "firsts":

First of all, this is the first real launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

SLS is a heavy launch vehicle launch system designed by NASA. The thruster is based on the space shuttle and replaces the retired launch system. The height of SLS is similar to that of the American Statue of Liberty (see below). The United States plans to use SLS to launch outer space exploration missions over the next 10 years until newer, bigger and more powerful rockets are available.

Within minutes of firing on the ground, the rocket's engines burned millions of liters of liquid propellant and about 1 million kilograms of solid fuel, generating up to 4400 metric tons of thrust. It can carry extremely heavy payloads (up to 46 tons) and send astronauts farther into space.

According to comprehensive public information, the total cost of a single ignition and launch of a SLS rocket is as high as $4 billion. The progress of the entire SLS project has been delayed at least nearly 20 times, and the schedule for the first launch has been delayed for several years.

Image source: NASA second, this is the first flight into space of the Orion spacecraft (Orion) jointly developed by Lockheed Martin and Airbus.

Orion spacecraft is currently the only spacecraft capable of human deep space flight, equipped with solar panels, glass cockpit, automatic docking system, life support system and so on, can support up to 6 crew.

One of the most critical details is that the Orion spacecraft has a launch abort escape system, and if a catastrophic failure occurs during the ascent, the crew module can be ejected at high speed. and independently spread the parachute back to the surface-to avoid repeating the mistake of the space shuttle Challenger that killed all its crew due to lack of escape system.

Orion spacecraft composition diagram, 1 = launch abort system, 2 = crew module, 3 = service module Photo Source: NASA is like a SLS rocket, the original name of this spacecraft is also very boring, called "manned exploration vehicle" (Crew Exploration Vehicle, CEV). But in a previous interview, an astronaut accidentally let it slip, and NASA finally had to adopt the name Orion.

(there is another anecdote about lunar landings: last year NASA signed a contract with SpaceX to approve $2.9 billion for the company to develop two lunar landings, which was protested by Bezos' Blue Origin, leading to a suspension of cooperation. )

Interestingly, although Artemis 1 is unmanned, there are several passengers on the Orion ship this time.

The first is the captain "Moonikin Campos". It is a test dummy, the mission is to play the astronaut, there are some man-made "organs" on the body, but also installed a variety of life support devices and radiation sensors, so that NASA can collect relevant data throughout the flight, thus improving the safety and comfort of subsequent manned missions.

The name of the dummy consists of two parts. The name is the combination of "moon" and "mannequin"; the last name is taken from the late NASA employee Arturo Campos. When there was a serious system failure in the Apollo 13 spacecraft, the engineer designed an emergency response plan on the ground, which eventually enabled the three astronauts on board to return to Earth safely.

This time NASA pays homage to him with the name of the dummy, perhaps hoping to borrow some good luck.

Moonikin Campos photo source: NASA finished talking about the captain, and then take a look at the other two humanoid crew members.

The NASA crew also installed two female upper body dummies on the ship, named Helga and Zohar. Their mission is to conduct a controlled trial of cosmic radiation protection: one wears an AstroRad radiation protection vest jointly developed by StemRad and Lockheed Martin, while the other does not provide any protection.

The reason for using the female model is that NASA will send female astronauts to the moon for the first time at the next launch (all previous astronauts who landed on the moon through the Apollo program were white males). NASA plans to send both male and female astronauts on future missions, so it is critical to collect data on both gender-specific health risks.

Helga and Zohar Photo Source: NASA in order to make the captain and two crew members not lonely in the universe.

NASA also arranged for Snoopy and Shawn the Sheep's plush toys to accompany them.

Snoopy, an old friend of American astronauts, is not the first time he has gone into space. This time his mission is to serve as a "weightlessness indicator" (zero G indicator).

Photo: Sean, the NASA sheep, was hitchhiked by the European Space Agency.

Image source: NASA in addition to the main payload Orion spacecraft, Artemis 1 also has an auxiliary payload, that is, 10 cubic satellites (CubeSat).

These ultra-small satellites will be released as the final stage of the SLS rocket separates from the Orion spacecraft. They each have independent observation and testing missions, such as one satellite dedicated to searching for lunar ice and the other carrying solar sails to observe and come into contact with objects such as near-Earth asteroids.

The cube satellite image of the launch mission source: while NASA released the cubic satellite, the Orion spacecraft itself has embarked on a journey to lunar space. Once in orbit, the spacecraft's thrusters will ignite it into the moon's "long-range retrograde orbit" (DRO, China's Chang'e 5 observer is also in this orbit) around the dark side of the moon.

After completing the orbit, the Orion thruster will ignite again, re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and eventually land with the help of a parachute.

Image source: one of the main goals of NASA's launch mission is also to test the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft, as it returns to the atmosphere at a speed of more than 40,000 kilometers per hour, more than most previous spacecraft, and the apparent temperature will exceed 2800 degrees Celsius. Whether the human astronauts can survive depends on whether the spacecraft can withstand such high temperatures and atmospheric friction.

Orion spacecraft heat shield photo source: the NASA/ project is seriously overrun, full of uncertainty / the success of the Artemis 1 mission will largely determine the implementation of subsequent manned missions to the moon.

Currently, NASA plans to launch Artemis 2 in 2024, carrying four human astronauts around the moon, not landing on the moon. The farthest flight site of the mission will reach 16000 kilometers from the dark side of the moon, which will be the farthest from the earth that any human has ever visited.

In 2025, Artemis 3 will carry four humans into lunar orbit, and two of them will take a lander to the south pole of the moon for a total stay of six and a half days, then return to the orbiter and return to Earth together. At that time, female astronauts will walk on the moon for the first time, creating a historic moment. NASA believes that this will help increase women's interest and love for space and STEM professional education.

Photo Source: NASA History of Apollo astronauts the US Congress has issued a regulatory report criticizing the Artemis project, accusing the project team of using immature technology and setting an overly aggressive timetable, which not only upset the expectations of the government and the public, but also exposed the project to additional technical risks.

At present, Artemis's manned launch mission has been postponed several times, and the budget has seriously exceeded the standard. It is estimated that NASA will spend a total of $53 billion on the program from 2021 to 2025. The US federal financial watchdog has described the SLS project as "unsustainable", but NASA is still further developing SLS Block 2 rockets with higher payloads, higher thrust and more expensive costs.

By 2027, NASA plans to launch the first module of the Lunar Portal (Lunar Gateway), officially starting work on the permanent space station. Just as the Heavenly Palace is the Earth's space station, the Moon Portal is a permanent space station designed to orbit the moon, providing docking ports for visiting spacecraft.

When completed, the Moon Portal will provide residential and logistical services for astronauts. In addition, the Moon Portal is also a transit station for subsequent deep space exploration and material transportation missions.

Due to the serious delay of the Artemis project itself, it has also had a certain delayed impact on the research and development of the lunar portal.

Rendering of the Moon Portal Photo Source: NASA in a few years, NASA plans to build a surface base at the moon's south pole that can accommodate up to four lunar dwellers for up to a month.

In addition, NASA is also developing a portable open lunar rover and a closed pressurized heavy lunar rover to facilitate short and long-distance lunar exploration missions.

Considering that the gravity of the moon is much smaller than that of the earth, and it is easier to launch heavier and farther vehicles, the United States also plans to use the lunar portal and lunar surface base as a further exploration of Mars. even launch sites and transit stations for manned missions to Mars. NASA is now expected to turn its attention to the Mars mission in the 2030s.

Photo Source: NASA/ moon landing is no longer the exclusive game of the United States / in the last century, the space race was once a game between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. On the other hand, on the manned landing on the moon, the United States basically won a landslide victory and became the only overlord.

In the 21st century, however, the United States has realized that it is difficult to accomplish space exploration as it did in the last century on its own.

In 2020, the United States and 22 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore and Israel, drafted and signed the multilateral agreement Artemis Agreement (Artemis Accords).

(materials and souvenirs from the space departments of various States parties can also be found in the launch load list of Artemis 1. )

Artemis Agreement (China has not signed the agreement) Photo Source: the provisions of the NASA agreement on commercial practices in outer space have been criticized to some extent by the international community. Including Russian officials, and even some experts in the United States, have denounced the Artemis agreement as "enacting international space law in favor of the country."

For example, NASA's own claim to protect the sites where the Apollo program has landed on the moon is tantamount to claiming ownership of these lunar surface sites, which is inconsistent with the spirit and related statement of the United Nations Outer Space Treaty that "there should be no sovereign territory of States on the moon."

For example, the Artemis agreement opens up in principle the possibility for private aerospace commercial companies to exploit and own resource materials in space. Considering that the United States is the registered country of the vast majority of private space companies, this violates the requirements of the Outer Space Treaty that commercial development should be multilaterally ratified, and also violates the spirit of the international multilateral licensing system.

A more crucial fact is that China and Russia, two aerospace powers with similar strength to the United States, are not involved in the U.S.-led agreement.

Since 2021, China has successfully completed several related launches of the Tiangong space station, and at present, a number of core functional modules and modules have been successfully assembled and tested.

After the excellent achievements of the Tiangong space station, China's lunar exploration project has also received more attention.

Configuration simulation of the Tiangong Space Station at the end of July 2022 Photo: Shujianyang according to public information, the first three phases of China's lunar exploration project have successfully completed various key tasks:

The Chang'e-1 and No.2 probes of the first phase of the project (orbiting the moon) completed their tasks in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

The Chang'e-3 and No. 4 probes of the second phase of the project have successfully achieved a soft landing and released their respective Yutu-1 and No. 2 lunar rovers. In addition, the Magpie Bridge relay communication satellite also successfully entered the orbit at Lagrange L2 in 2018.

Chang'e-5, the third phase of the project (return), landed at the lunar storm Yanglumke Mountain the year before last, completed the sample collection and returned to Earth smoothly and safely.

The fourth phase of China's lunar exploration project was officially established last year and entered the stage of implementation. The main goal is to scientifically explore the South Pole of the moon and establish the basic type of lunar research stations (lunar surface or lunar orbit).

Not long ago, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that it was developing a new generation of manned and heavy carrier rockets for manned lunar landings, as well as Mars, Jupiter and asteroid exploration missions.

Among them, the manned carrier rocket will have the ability to send a Chinese man to the moon around 2030, while the heavy carrier rocket will raise the payload of the earth-moon transfer orbit to 50 tons, exceeding the 46-ton limit launch capacity of NASA's SLS Block-2 rocket under development.

The construction of the lunar scientific research station is planned to be completed by 2030, and the construction of supporting systems such as energy, communications, navigation, long-distance transportation and round trip between heaven and earth will be completed around 2035.

NASA China and Russia just signed an agreement on the cooperation project of the International Lunar Research Station in March this year, and indicated that it is open to all interested countries and international partners, so as to strengthen scientific research exchanges and promote the peaceful exploration of space and the effective use of space resources for all mankind.

Since 2021, China has signed 46 space cooperation agreements or memorandums of understanding with 19 countries and regions and 4 international organizations, actively promoting global multilateral co-governance of outer space, according to the White Paper "China's Aerospace 2016".

Despite the defeat of the Soviet Union in the manned moon landing race during the Cold War, Russia has never given up its dream of manned landing on the moon, the Global Times reported. At present, Russia plans to use several "Angara-A5" large rockets to launch equipment and modules such as the Eagle manned spacecraft, lunar landing system, and space tugboats under development into space around 2030, to complete docking assembly in orbit, and then to land on the moon.

The Indian Space Research Organization has previously announced that it will launch the "Lunar ship 3" probe next year, while accelerating the training of its own astronauts to achieve the ability to independently send astronauts into space. The head of the organization made it clear that "we are paying attention to the mission of manned landing on the moon."

NASA took the lead in launching the Artemis 1 mission, giving the United States a temporary lead in the resumption of the moon landing. However, it is an indisputable fact that lunar exploration is no longer the exclusive game of the United States.

The rapid progress of China's manned space and space station programmes, as well as the interest of Russia and India, mean that the US can no longer be the winner of the space race as it did in the second half of the last century.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: Silicon Man (ID:guixingren123). Article: du Chen, Editor: VickyXiao

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