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The Mission Which Can Change Our Lives Forever

Updated: Aug 21

Hi! I want to start this article to announce that I am officially a student in Jagiellonian University in Cracov! And at the beginning of October, I will start my bachelor's degree in astronomy and I am super excited to say it now!! And also I will try my best in The “6 Girls, 6 Continents” challenge organized by Cosmic Girls Foundation (registration ends in September 2025).


First woman on Moon and the return to traveling to Moon after over 50 years (54 years actually). So THE MISSION - Artemis II (because the Artemis I was done in November 2022 without any humans, but was partially successful). There are plans for 9 human missions and 1 test flight. 


An artist's rendition of an Artemis astronaut wearing the xEMU spacesuit on an EVA during an Artemis mission (by NASA) - link to image
An artist's rendition of an Artemis astronaut wearing the xEMU spacesuit on an EVA during an Artemis mission (by NASA) - link to image

By: Adrianna Deptuła


First Woman on Moon

Yeah, finally, a woman will be able to look so close on our natural satellite - Moon. And that will be Christina Koch - an American engineer and NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. Her Bachelor's Degree was electrical engineering and physics, and Master's Degree was electrical engineering, both of them in North Carolina State University. She was living and working on the ISS (arrived there on March 14, 2019). 


But wait, why do we START to THINK ABOUT IT??


So start by talking about the goals of Artemis’ missions. There are plenty of them, but there are several key goals to achieve. 


We're coming back to the Moon for economic benefits, scientific discovery and inspiration for a new generation of explorers - The Artemis Generation. The main goal is to travel to the Moon again and create a base on the Moon. By contrast to the Apollo Missions where most people were connected with the military, the Artemis crews were composed of scientists. And in every crew there will be a place for at least one woman.


  • Science & Discovery

For Artemis' mission the goal is to get to know more about the Moon - his history, and also to improve our knowledge about the history and formation of our solar system including Earth and also the Moon. With advanced spacecrafts and spacesuits we will be ready to spend more time on the Moon, and that is the core of NASA's infrastructure for long-term human exploration at the Moon. As the Artemis mission will be completed we will know more about exploring outer space objects and also we can try new technologies for the future - the exploration of Mars. And the next goal connected with exploring the Moon more is to explore new parts of the Moon - the South Pole. The Apollo missions landed near the Moon's equator, but the Artemis missions will be landing near the South Pole, because of the frozen water, which means the source of water for drinking, oxygen for breathing, and rocket fuel - to be able to travel farther into the solar system. 


  • Economic Opportunities

Artemis missions will be a great opportunity for job growth for humans, because of the necessity to get involved more scientists and more educated people, the space flight controllers - to track and communicate with the crew and large amount of support team on Earth to making sure that astronauts are safe, aerospace engineering - to design, build and test the spacecraft, rockets and habitats like Orion spacecrafts, SLS rocket (Space Launch System), Gateway station and lunar landers. There will be a place also for software engineers, programmers, scientists (planetary scientists, astrostrophysists, astrobiologists), medical experts, technicians, educators and us - people who love space and sure information about it, to create the community.. This project - NOVA, i think is the place like this, the place for every person who fell in love with space, astronomy and aerospace engineering. 


  • Inspiration for a New Generation - The Artemis Generation

At NASA's page there is a lot of information about the Axiom missions - as they say “Find your favourite way to be part of the Artemis mission". For example there are Artemis Student Challenge - NASA Space Apps Challenge, NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars, NASA Internships and Search NASA STEM Gateway. Students around the world design, build, test and launch their own vehicle - this supports NASA's Space Launch System and Artemis. As a young adult, I am excited to be able to see this amazing mission with my own eyes and to see my first human landing and maybe in the future to be a part of this mission. 


THE MAIN MISSIONS

Firstly, Artemis I - an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched on November 16, 2022. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, especially to test Orion's heat shield (and yeah - there was a problem with it, unexpected loss of material during landing).

But, the most important one, the Artemis II, a planned mission - the first human crew (with woman) to go very close around the Moon after over five decades. It is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2026, and it will take 10 days of mission duration. The crew is created by 4 people - Reid Wiseman (NASA, commander) , Victor Glover (NASA, pilot), Christina Koch (NASA, mission specialist I) and Jeremy Hansen (CSA, mission specialist II).  It will be launched at Kennedy Space Center. The first human landing on the Moon is planned for Artemis III, where 2 astronauts from 4 crew members will be able to land on Moon and it will be on half of 2027. 


And some mystery - one of the seats of Artemis VI is presumed to be reserved for the Polish Space Agency and their astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, but is not officially confirmed. 


AT THE END

This mission will be very exciting and the future of this mission will make a huge difference for many generations. We will see how far we can dive into exploring the Moon and test our spacecraft for other missions - Mars and the others :)

Thank you for reading this article.

See you soon,

Ada

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About the author: Hi! My name is Adrianna Deptuła, but friends call me Ada. I am from Poland, and I really love astronomy and astrophysics. One day, I want to be an astronaut or planetary scientist! In my free time, I love hiking in mountains, solving puzzles, spending time with my friends, and watching TV series and movies.

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