UPSC Essentials: One word a day – Artemis

( Relevance: Science and Technology are one of the favourite areas of UPSC-CSE. Space news from NASA and other international agencies should not be ignored by aspirants. Please note that the questions may dig into past important events and missions of exploration. Point to ponder and MCQ will help you to revise and know more.)

Why in news?

—  NASA’s Artemis mission aims to put humans back on the moon for the first time after the Apollo 17 mission, fifty years ago. The space agency has built the most powerful rocket ever, the Space Launch System (SLS), which will carry all the spacecraft part of Artemis missions.

What is Artemis?

— Artemis is the mission of NASA which is considered the next generation of lunar exploration.

— It is named after the twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology. Also, Artemis is also the goddess of the moon.

— NASA plans for increasingly complex missions that enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars. Artemis is the first in that series.

— According to NASA, Artemis aims to land humans on the moon by 2024. Also, the plan is to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon.

— NASA will establish an Artemis Base Camp on the surface. It also will establish a gateway. The gateway or the lunar outpost around the Moon, will aid exploration by robots and astronauts.

Which are other space agencies involved in the Artemis programme?

1. Canadian Space Agency- committed to providing advanced robotics for the gateway.

2. The European Space Agency- will provide the International Habitat and the ESPRIT module. Note- ESPIRIT module aims to deliver additional communications capabilities among other things.

3. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – plans to contribute habitation components and logistics resupply.

What are the other facts about the mission that you must know?

— Artemis I was formerly known as Exploration Mission-1.

— It will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems.

— It comprises of Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Newly upgraded Exploration Ground Systems

— Orion spacecraft is going to remain in space without docking to a space station, longer than any ship for astronauts has ever done before.

— The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is the most powerful rocket in the world. Newly upgraded Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

— SLS and Orion under Artemis I will be launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the U.S. in the summer of 2022.

— It is an uncrewed space mission where the spacecraft will launch on an SLS rocket.

— According to NASA, a microwave oven–sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds will serve as the first spacecraft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit as part of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE).

— NASA also mentions that as a pathfinder for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

What does the Artemis programme aim to do in future?

— The second flight under the programme will have a crew on board.

— It will test Orion’s critical systems with humans onboard.

— The experiences from the Artemis programme will be utilised to send the first astronauts to Mars.

Point to ponder: Trace the efforts of ISRO for the moon’s exploration.

MCQ:

Which of the following statements regarding the moon’s exploration is incorrect?

a) Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft studied the Moon’s gravity.

b) Apollo 11 was the first space mission to visit the Moon.

c) Clementine was lunar robotic exploration mission of the USA.

d) CAPSTONE is a part of the Artemis programme of NASA.

Answer for the previous MCQ-

UPSC Essentials: One word a day – Co-location – (b)

(source: nasa.gov)