2022 is full of space novelties. NASA postponed the start of the unmanned Artemis I mission until this year, and is already revving up engines for what will be the first step in the project to colonize the Moon , according to the US space agency.
The week-long trip is meant to pave the way for subsequent manned missions , both to return to the lunar surface and out into deep space.
As a curiosity, NASA’s Artemis I lunar mission will have a very special artificial intelligence: Callisto , a system developed by Amazon, Cisco and Lockheed Martin. Calisto will combine Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant voice control technology with Cisco’s Webex video conferencing system in one interface. Its name is due to the nymph in ancient Greek mythology who was the favorite companion of the goddess Artemis.
Since there will be no crew, AI developers have worked with NASA to create a virtual crew experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for testing, which will allow mission control personnel to remotely interact with Callisto , through a different set of speakers, as if they were aboard the Orion space capsule.
The SLS ( Space Launch System ), almost 100 meters high for the Artemis I mission, is NASA’s largest rocket since the last Saturn V rocket was launched to a launch pad in 1972.
The first lunar mission in decades will help NASA understand how the new giant rocket and Orion capsule work , said Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems development.
“We’re looking at the last part of the March window right now for the release. That release period ends on March 27 and the next one opens on April 8,” Free clarifies.
It is the only machine capable of sending the Orion spacecraft to the Moon, thanks to its two boosters and four RS-25 engines that deliver several million pounds of thrust beyond Earth’s orbit and into the Moon.
“The Space Launch System team is not just building a rocket, but is building multiple rockets for exploration missions and future SLS flights beyond the initial Artemis launch. The Artemis I mission is the first in a series of missions each complex missions that will expand our presence on the moon The unprecedented power and capabilities of the SLS rocket will send missions farther and faster throughout the solar system,” said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager.
Artemis I aims to send the Orion spacecraft to the Moon, where it will enter distant orbit on a several-week unpiloted “test cruise” about 100 kilometers from the Moon to demonstrate that the SLS rocket and Orion are ready to transport astronauts. The next mission, known as Artemis 2, will send a four-person crew around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for future lunar landing flights.
The rocket features some of the largest, most advanced and reliable hardware elements ever built for space exploration.
Reference: NASA
