For the first lunar exploration by astronauts since the Apollo program, a large rocket carrying an unmanned spacecraft will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States in the early hours of the 4th Japan time.
The launch was postponed once last month and preparations are underway at the launch pad.
NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration is aiming for the first moon landing by astronauts since the Apollo program, with the goal of 2025 in the international lunar exploration plan "Artemis plan" in which Japan and Europe also participate.
As the first stage of the plan, at 3:17 am on the 4th of Japan time, a large rocket "SLS" = "Space Launch System" is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
The launch was scheduled for the 29th of last month, but was postponed after some engine problems were found during the countdown.
SLS is a newly developed rocket according to this plan, and the newly developed spacecraft "Orion" is installed in an unmanned state.
Three mannequins will be placed on Orion, and it will conduct a test flight for about 40 days, orbiting the moon and returning to Earth, to collect necessary data for future manned flights, such as impacts and radiation effects.
According to NASA, so far preparations for the launch are progressing smoothly, and attention is focused on whether the first step toward the moon can be taken for the first time in half a century.
What is the Artemis Project?
The "Artemis Project" is a plan to send astronauts to the moon again.
In the 1960s and 1970s, like the "Apollo Project" that sent mankind to the moon, it is named after Greek mythology, and "Artemis" is the twin sister of "Apollo" and is considered to be the goddess of the moon.
In the plan, we will first aim for the moon in three stages.
In the first phase, this time, a newly developed spacecraft "Orion" will be launched unmanned using a newly developed rocket, and a test flight to orbit the moon will be performed.
After that, as the second stage, we plan to conduct a test flight to orbit the moon with astronauts on board by 2024, and in the third stage, we plan to have astronauts land on the moon by 2025.
If all goes according to plan, it will be the first time in half a century since Apollo 17 landed on the moon with astronauts in 1972.
Beyond that, the plan is to build a new space station called Gateway, which will orbit the Moon, and to send astronauts there regularly.
The plan also envisages a manned landing on Mars in the 2030s, based on the moon.
NASA originally aimed to land astronauts on the moon by 2024, but the launch was delayed due to delays in rocket development.
In this plan, NASA aims for the first female astronaut to land on the moon, and Japanese astronauts are also considering landing on the moon.
This test flight is an experiment using a mannequin
The spacecraft "Orion" to be launched this time was developed by NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration in accordance with the "Artemis Project".
After being launched, it flies on an orbit toward the moon, passes the far side of the moon about 450,000 kilometers away 12 days after launch, returns to Earth, and 38 days later lands in the Pacific Ocean. It's a plan.
In this test flight, we will check whether Orion can make a round trip to the moon without any problems, and also measure various data necessary for manned flight.
One of them is an experiment using three mannequins.
Each mannequin is given a name, and one of them, "Campos", is installed in the captain's seat and measures the magnitude of vibrations and impacts.
The other two, named "Helga" and "Zorha," will use more than 5,000 sensors to detect the effects of radiation on a woman's body during the flight for the planned moon landing of a female astronaut. use it to find out.
"Zoha" will be put on a vest that protects the human body from radiation, and the effect will be confirmed.
Also, when Orion returns to Earth, the surface temperature is expected to reach about 2800 degrees, and it is to make sure that Orion's heat shield can withstand such high temperatures.
Large rocket "SLS" The most powerful rocket developed by NASA
The large rocket "SLS" used for this launch was developed for the Artemis project.
It has a total length of about 98 meters and is capable of launching up to 27 tons into orbit around the moon.
The first-stage rocket, called the "core stage," is equipped with four main engines that use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are modified versions of the engines used in the Space Shuttle.
According to NASA, during the previous launch on the 29th of last month, one of these units had trouble cooling properly, and the launch work was canceled.
NASA has decided to challenge the launch again this time, saying that it can respond by changing the work procedure.
In addition, the two auxiliary rockets on the left and right are solid-fuel rockets developed based on the auxiliary rockets used on the space shuttle.
And the second stage rocket called "upper stage" is equipped with an engine that changes Orion's orbit in outer space after separating the core stage.
According to NASA, the SLS can produce greater propulsion than the large rocket "Saturn V" used in the Apollo program at the time of launch, making it "the most powerful rocket developed by NASA". .
Multiple variations are planned for SLS, and rockets with even greater propulsion are planned to be used in the future.
The procedure for launching
According to NASA, the large rocket SLS is launched in roughly the following order.
A briefing on the weather and preparations will be held from 9 hours and 40 minutes before the launch, and a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the subsequent work 8 hours and 40 minutes before the launch.
About 7 hours before the flight, the SLS will be injected with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel.
50 minutes before the event, the person in charge will give a final briefing.
15 minutes before launch, the launch manager will make the final decision on whether to proceed with launch operations.
10 minutes before the final launch, the countdown will begin, and final adjustments will be made, such as switching to the internal power supply.
Six seconds before launch, the core stage engines are fired.
After launch, the auxiliary rocket will be separated about 2 minutes later, and the core stage will be separated about 8 minutes and 30 seconds after launch.
After that, about an hour and a half after launch, the engines are fired so that Orion will be in orbit toward the moon, and after about two hours Orion will separate from the rocket.
Orion will fly to the moon and will be "closest" to the moon five days after launch.
After orbiting the Moon, it will orbit back to Earth 32 days after launch.
Finally, 38 days after launch, we plan to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, USA.