posted 10-30-2019 01:43 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss NASA's Artemis III mission, the first crewed flight to the surface of the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

posted 10-31-2019 12:07 PM            

That being said, what about the return from the lunar surface? The HLS will dock at the Gateway when the astronauts leave the lunar surface. Will the HLS be discarded like the LM was or saved for another mission? If it's saved, that opens up a whole world of complexity to be dealt with, doesn't it?

posted 10-31-2019 12:28 PM               

The Human Landing System would then be launched to dock with the Gateway and await the arrival of Orion with the crew.

posted 05-13-2020 12:38 PM               

This version removes the Gateway from Artemis 3; the Gateway is now planned for launch in November 2023, but will not be used for the 2024 landing.

posted 07-07-2020 06:15 PM               

In response to the delay, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee limited NASA's spending on exploration:

Not more than 40 percent of the amounts made available in this Act for the Gateway; Advanced Cislunar and Surface Capabilities; Commercial LEO Development; Human Landing System; and Lunar Discovery and Exploration, excluding the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, may be obligated until the Administrator submits a multi-year plan to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate that identifies estimated dates, by fiscal year, for Space Launch System flights to build the Gateway; the commencement of partnerships with commercial entities for additional LEO missions to land humans and rovers on the Moon; and conducting additional scientific activities on the Moon. The multi-year plan shall include key milestones to be met by fiscal year to achieve goals for each of the lunar programs described in the previous sentence and funding required by fiscal year to achieve such milestones.

posted 08-20-2020 11:14 AM               

A crew module cone panel with openings for windows – which will provide that spectacular view – is ready for shipment to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana, for welding as part of Orion’s pressure vessel. The panel was designed by Orion’s prime contractor, Lockheed Martin of Denver, Colorado, and manufactured by AMRO Fabricating Corp., of South El Monte, California. It is the first element of the Artemis III crew module to be machined.

To acknowledge the milestone, leaders from NASA, Lockheed, and AMRO recently showcased Orion’s progress through a video looking at the manufacturing process and hardware at AMRO. Participants included NASA’s Howard Hu, Lockheed Martin Vice President for Human Space Exploration and Orion Program Manager Mike Hawes, and AMRO CEO Mike Riley.

posted 09-16-2020 03:46 PM               

"If you're going to go to the equatorial region again, how are you going to learn the most? You could argue that you'll learn the most by going to the places where we put gear in the past," he said, referring to the equipment left behind at the Apollo landing sites.

"There could be scientific discoveries there and, of course, just the inspiration of going back to an original Apollo site would be pretty amazing as well," he said. He also cited creating "norms of behavior" for protecting those sites from other expeditions.

Bridenstine treated a landing away from the south pole as, for now, a hypothetical scenario. "If we made a determination that the south pole might be out of reach for Artemis 3, which I'm not saying it is or isn't," then a landing near an Apollo site might be an option, he said. "Those decisions haven't been made at this time."

posted 09-16-2020 04:31 PM               

1. Conducting a landing toward, but not at, the lunar South Pole.
   
2. Landing outside the Apollo operational envelope.
   
3. Bringing home samples that would verify Surveyor 7's remote findings.
   
4. Returning parts of Surveyor, which will have endured the lunar environment for 56 years (assuming a 2024 Artemis landing).
   
5. Exploring an area near a large, young lunar impact crater.

posted 09-16-2020 07:54 PM               

While a Surveyor site does provide the opportunity to return Surveyor hardware that has been left there for so long, an Apollo site provides more opportunity to study a wider range of equipment and the site has well documented history for comparison and for locating study targets.

Questions about how the Lunar Module launch impacted the materials left behind, the effects of long duration exposure to a wider range of materials, including the rover batteries.

Looking at rocks that had previous samples chipped away, and being able to take another sample 50 years later for comparison, and even the discarded trash and byproducts left behind by humans could provide valuable data.

Questions that have been the subject of discussion for many years could be answered (including the brand of golf ball and the true distance of that shot), the effects of 50 years of lunar environment on photographic film, or what remains of an American flag.

Being able to follow up on questions raised after the initial exploration of a site can be helpful for the scientific investigators, and engineers and benefit from learning how materials and equipment survive long duration exposure.

Revisiting a site would also feed the natural curiosity of many people and help determine how fragile the Apollo landing sites are. what measures are required to preserve the sites into the future.

posted 09-21-2020 03:59 PM               

In addition to two crew, the HLS will carry up to 220 lbs (100 kg) of science tools and equipment to the surface, with the goal of returning up to 87.5 lbs (35 kg) of samples.

The exact landing site for Artemis III astronauts depends on several factors, including the specific science objectives and the launch date.

The agency is working with the global science community to study different regions that provide key desired traits: access to significant sunlight, which provides minimal temperature variations and potentially the only power source; continuous line-of-sight to Earth for mission support communications; mild grading and surface debris for safe landing and walking or roving mobility; and close proximity to permanently shadowed regions, some of which are believed to contain resources such as water ice.

posted 09-21-2020 05:11 PM               

To be clear, we are going to the south pole. There is no talk or trades or anything about anything else than going to the south pole at NASA.

It came up in a LEAG meeting, which is the Lunar Exploration Advisory Group, somebody asked me, "Wouldn't it be a good idea to go to an Apollo legacy site?" or something like that. The way I answered was, Where we are going is the south pole, that is where we are going. I think I said something like, 'You know if it were to be determined we could not get to the south pole, then that would be something to look at.' From that, somebody tweeted something and it became a story.

Right now we have no plans for Artemis 3 for anything other than the south pole.

posted 11-09-2021 03:53 PM               

Our teams need time to speak now with SpaceX about the Human Landing System. We've lost nearly seven months in litigation and that likely has pushed the first human landing likely to no earlier than 2025.

However, this crewed landing will be preceded by an uncrewed landing on the moon sometime before that human landing.

There are other reasons: prior to fiscal year 22, previous congresses did not appropriate enough dollars for development of the Human Landing System. And then the Trump administration target of a 2024 human landing was not grounded in technical feasibility.

posted 08-17-2022 06:34 PM               

NASA to Announce Candidate Landing Regions for Artemis III Moon Mission

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 19, to announce regions near the lunar South Pole the agency has identified as potential areas for astronauts to land as part of the Artemis III mission, targeted for 2025. This will be the first time astronauts will set foot on the Moon since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Audio of the briefing will livestream on NASA's website.

Within each region, there are several potential landing sites. Each of the selected regions, from which specific landing sites could be selected, is of scientific interest and was evaluated based on terrain, communications, and lighting conditions, as well as ability to meet science objectives. NASA will engage with the broader science community in the coming months to discuss the merits of each region.

Teleconference participants include:

• Mark Kirasich, deputy associate administrator for the Artemis Campaign Development Division, NASA Headquarters
  
• Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, NASA Headquarters
  
• Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
  
• Prasun Desai, deputy associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

posted 08-20-2022 12:08 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
As recently stated by chief astronaut Reid Wiseman, all of the members of the astronaut office are equally qualified to fly to the moon.

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It is self-evident that anyone who has been selected as an astronaut has achieved minimum necessary standards of intelligence, skills, flying ability, etc. The issue is whether some individuals in an astronaut group (i.e. the pool of Artemis astronauts) are at the bottom, in the middle, or at the top, relatively speaking. There must inevitably be a heirarchy in terms of "the best for the job" because NOT all people (including astronauts) have identical skills or abilities.

We know that Deke Slayton judged some of his astronauts to be better than others, even though all had met the minimum criteria for astronaut selection. We know that, by and large, he felt that an experienced test-pilot was a better choice (at least on the early missions) than a non-test-pilot.

One thing which Slayton did with his Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronaut groups was to make them do "peer ratings" whereby you would exclude yourself, then indicate in what order the other group members deserved to fly missions. It goes without saying that nobody answered "1st equal" for everybody else. Those peer ratings clearly showed that certain astronauts were more highly rated than others by their own peers. As Walt Cunningham pointed out ["All-American Boys," p. 42]:

But when judging another pilot's capability, someone on whom your own life might some day depend, you can't afford to get sentimental.

posted 08-20-2022 01:08 PM               

So when Wiseman said that all the members of the astronaut corps are eligible to fly to the moon, he said that knowing that all of the active astronauts can meet the skill sets needed for the Artemis missions.

posted 08-22-2022 10:27 AM               

As we all know, Schmitt took over Joe Engle's seat as LMP on Apollo 17, and the last moon landing flight for more than fifty years took along the only trained geologist in the program. Although there were protests, of course, none other than Bill Anders, of Apollo 8 and a jet interceptor pilot AND trained physicist, recommended that a scientist fly on the last Apollo flight. Fast-forward some fifty years, and today we have a plethora of highly qualified astronauts who can easily fill the crew positions for any Artemis mission (orbital or landing). Top of the list and, not coincidentally, one who considers Dr. Schmitt one of her mentors, is Dr. Jessica Watkins, who has a PhD in geology from UCLA and is currently serving aboard ISS as an expedition crewmember, due to return to earth next month.

posted 08-27-2022 07:36 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
there is no justification for not selecting a woman to be part of the Artemis III landing crew (as stated during a press call on Friday [Aug. 19], there is no requirement for a person of color to be on Artemis III...

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If the unpiloted Artemis 1 test flight goes well, NASA plans to launch four astronauts atop the second SLS rocket for an around-the-moon shakedown flight in 2024 — Artemis 2 — before the first woman and the first person of color touch down near the moon's south pole in 2025 or 2026.