NASA readies Artemis II for a manned launch

[JeffKeryk]

The Moon rotates on its axis, like our Earth.
It takes approximately 27.3 days for the Moon to complete one full rotation, which is the exact same amount of time it takes to orbit the Earth. This synchronized motion, known as tidal locking, ensures that the same side of the Moon perpetually faces Earth.

Because the rotation and orbital speed are perfectly matched, the Moon does not "turn its back" on Earth.

You're welcome.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I ordered the sun to come up this morning when we were out for our 5:00 AM walk. The sun obeyed; it knows better!

Chuck Norris left it instructions to be followed.

 

[Snagglefoot]

They just took the new Earth Rise photo.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Artemis coming back into contact. Amazing! History!
The brave astronauts are on their way home...

 

[Snagglefoot]

Ok, party’s over. Everyone go home.

 

[billt460]

I love the space program, and always have. And I'm not trying to be overly critical here. But I was just 16 years old when Apollo 8 was injected into low lunar orbit, (just 67 miles above the lunar surface). Where it orbited the Moon 10 times over the course of 20 hours.... Before firing the Service Module engine for it's successful return to Earth.

It had never been done before. We had never left the confines of low Earth orbit for deep space travel. And it took place just 11 months after the tragic Apollo 1 fire that killed Grissom, White, and Chaffee. And forced a complete redesign of the Apollo Command Module....

This mission, (almost 58 years later), only passed once within 4,000+ miles of the Moon. So you will have to forgive me, but I'm just not seeing the big accomplishment here. It's not even a repeat performance of what we accomplished almost 6 decades earlier, with far less technology than we have today.

With this mission we basically have done much less with a whole lot more. With that said, I hope the success continues.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Perhaps the 4000 mile orbit radius was to get some street cred as the “ furthest distance from earth”. At least they gave the space toilets a check out. The AI Space robots are ROFLMAO.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Apollo 8 was injected into low lunar orbit, (just 67 miles above the lunar surface)

That must have been quite the view!

This mission, (almost 58 years later), only passed once within 4,000+ miles of the Moon. So you will have to forgive me, but I'm just not seeing the big accomplishment here. It's not even a repeat performance of what we accomplished almost 6 decades earlier, with far less technology than we have today.

With this mission we basically have done much less with a whole lot more. With that said, I hope the success continues.

I think NASA is taking a safer, more incremental approach to this mission. Had the moon race started now, I bet it would take longer and the Apollo 1 disaster never would have happened due to increased safety and standards. Plus, in the 60's it was more of a race than a let's make sure everything is 110% perfect. We should be landing on the moon next year (hopefully). I guess this was a test run etc.

Artemis II (Current): Conducts a figure-eight loop around the moon (not entering a stable orbit, but doing a flyby) to test systems, flying higher than any previous crewed mission.

Artemis III (Future): Planned for 2026-2027, this mission will use a SpaceX Starship HLS to land crew on the surface, focusing on exploration.

Artemis IV (Future): Planned for 2028, it will continue landings and develop the Gateway station in lunar orbit, serving as a staging point for the surface.

 

[billt460]

That must have been quite the view!

Absolutely! Some months after that mission was successfully completed, I saw an interview with Jim Lovell. He said they all, (Lovell, Borman, Anders), were very concerned about the telemetry calculations that were made regarding lunar orbit insertion.

And you have to remember the calculations were all done with low powered, tape driven, (at the time), IBM 360 computers the size of refrigerators, and checked with slide rules!

There was virtually zero margin for error. If they were just the slightest bit off, they all could have augered into the lunar surface at 3,400 MPH. He said what made it worse, was as they approached lunar orbit insertion, the windows on the command module were facing away from the lunar surface.

So it wasn't until after they were in lunar orbit, (just 67 miles above the Moon's surface), when the spacecraft rotated 180 degrees, and they actually saw the Moon from just 67 miles high for the first time.

Lovell said it made his hair stand up.... Being that accurate on arrival after lifting off from a rotating Earth 3 days earlier, traveling 240,000 miles to a Moon that was rotating in orbit around it.... And then arriving with that kind of precision. All but unbelievable when you think about it..... And we did it 9 times!

 

[mk378]

It's complicated to compute an orbit around the Moon because its mass is not at all uniformly distributed, so the force of gravity on the spacecraft is not a simple equation, especially as you get closer to the surface. Most of that was measured by unmanned probes first.

 

[maduroman]

But not very many of the members of the early astronaut groups died young. Of those who died somewhat prematurely, I think Don Eisele, Jim Irwin, and Ron Evans died of heart disease. Pete Conrad was in a motorcycle accident. Gus Grissom and Ed White died in the Apollo 1 fire.

Excluding accidents, I think they have been a long-lived group.

It would interesting to correlate time spent in space and mortality.

Perhaps low Earth orbit is not bad. Maybe it's passing through the Van Allen belts that exposes one to a lot of radiation.

Jim Lovell, John Young, and Gene Cernan all flew to the moon twice, and all lived into their 80s.

Or maybe because they never left earth .......just throwing it out there. Lol

 

[Snagglefoot]

NASA mentioned the Space Station crew and the Artemis crew had
a short conversation. " Have you any Grey Poupon"?

 

[Pew]

NASA mentioned the Space Station crew and the Artemis crew had
a short conversation. " Have you any Grey Poupon"?

Probably about the space station's extended warranty.

 

[QwikKota]

Artemis IV (Future): Planned for 2028, it will continue landings and develop the Gateway station in lunar orbit, serving as a staging point for the surface.

We are being told to stop work on Gateway programs. Where did you read the info about the station being involved with Artemis IV?

 

[billt460]

They're set to reenter at around 4:30 PM Mountain Time Friday... (Tomorrow). The reentry corridor is tight. No 4,000+ mile cushion like they had going around the Moon.

 

[Owen Lucas]

We are being told to stop work on Gateway programs. Where did you read the info about the station being involved with Artemis IV?

My earlie rpost was a Google summary, looks like it was wrong.

"
What is Happening: A Structural Shift in NASA’s Lunar Strategy

As anticipated in Novaspace’s Prospects for Space Exploration (released in April 2025), the Lunar Gateway has now been effectively cancelled. Initially viewed as a central element of NASA lunar architecture, its cancellation, on March 24th 2026, marks a material shift in the Artemis Program. According to current policy direction and budget proposals, the agency plans to repurpose selected Gateway technologies while redirecting funding toward the development of a sustained lunar surface presence, including infrastructure for a Moon base.

This decision is part of a broader simplification of the Artemis architecture, aimed at reducing complexity and accelerating deployment timelines. By removing the intermediate orbital layer, NASA is moving toward more direct mission profiles between Earth and the lunar surface. In parallel, the agency is reinforcing a shift toward commercially supported transportation and logistics, with the objective of increasing mission cadence and reducing reliance on government-owned systems. This includes the expansion of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) framework to support more frequent cargo deliveries, as well as a reassessment of the long-term role of the Space Launch System. Beyond Artemis V, NASA has indicated its intention to rely on multiple commercial lunar transportation providers, marking a transition toward a more diversified and competitive transport architecture. "


https://nova.space/in-the-loop/the-end-of-gateway-exploring-the-consequences-of-nasas-lunar-shift/

 

[JeffKeryk]

NASA mentioned the Space Station crew and the Artemis crew had
a short conversation. " Have you any Grey Poupon"?

I'm pretty sure they also discussed, "Thick vs Thin".

 

[E365]

Good informal chat on some the best images so far.



Approaching halfway back home and picking up speed again.

 

[E365]

The SpaceX Starship lander (HLS) is going to be quite the challenge. As is, Starship can’t get out of LEO (or even get there, yet). It will need to be refueled in LEO. And no one knows how many times. SpaceX claims around 10. Others think more. So SpaceX will quite likely need 12+ total, and successful, Starship launches.

I think we see earlier success from Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander.

 

[Owen Lucas]

The SpaceX Starship lander (HLS) is going to be quite the challenge. As is, Starship can’t get out of LEO (or even get there, yet). It will need to be refueled in LEO. And no one knows how many times. SpaceX claims around 10. Others think more. So SpaceX will quite likely need 12+ total, and successful, Starship launches.

I think we see earlier success from Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander.

Wow, I thought Starship were the most powerful ever created, according to Musk's boasting. Guess not. The Artemis rocket looked massive!