Ramblings of a 70-year old: the moon

Sunday, October 16, 2022

SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts of NASA and ESA returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown

It was a memorable moment for NSSA and SpaceX when the Crew-4 astronauts splashed down in the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. They were Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency ESA. They had spent 170 days in orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft. That way they completed the agency’s fourth commercial crew mission to the International Space Station ISS. The SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts. All the astronauts will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston while Cristoforetti will board a plane to Europe. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson welcomed them back. This international crew spent nearly six months on the ISS. They conducted science experiments for the benefit of all and their work will help prepare future explorers for subsequent space missions. Bill Nelson went on to add - “Working and living on the space station is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it also requires these explorers to make sacrifices, especially time away from loved ones.” NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts safely splash down in Atlantic after spending 170 days in orbit. The Crew-4 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Cristoforetti completed two spacewalks with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev to perform station maintenance and upgrades.

The four astronauts travelled 72,168,935 miles during their mission, spent 170 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,720 orbits around the Earth. Cristoforetti has logged 369 days in space on her two flights. This makes her second on the all-time list for most days in space by a woman. The spacecraft, named Freedom by Crew-4, will now come back to Florida. Once there, it will undergo inspection and processing at SpaceX’s Dragon Lair. Here, specialist teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the flight. The aim of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA is to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and help NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Monday, August 29, 2022

NASA enters second phase of going to the Moon after 50 years

The world is waiting for NASA to enter the second phase of exploring the Moon. Its Space Launch System SLS is set to lift-off to set the foundation for the Artemis project. This is being developed to put humans back on the lunar surface after half a century. The mission will also pave the way for flights to Mars in the 2040s. At present, the rocket will conduct test on a capsule far from Earth. This capsule is called Orion, the program calls for the spacecraft to loop around the Moon on a big arc. It will later return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean in six weeks' time. Orion is unmanned for this demonstration. However, in case everything goes as per plans, astronauts will be on board for missions that are more complex. These could begin in 2024. Artemis: Nasa ready to launch new era of Moon exploration. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik explains the objective. He says - "Everything we're doing with this Artemis I flight, we're looking at through the lens of what can we prove out and what can we demonstrate that will buy down risk for the Artemis II crewed mission."

The American space agency has multiple opportunities to fly SLS-Orion. However, its intention would be to seize the first available opportunity. Right now, the weather in Florida is very dynamic. There are possibilities of electrical storms passing over the spaceport. In fact, the lightning towers have already been struck recently a number of times. Therefore, NASA has to weigh all the options available and select the most appropriate time slot. Incidentally, the rocket is not supposed to lift off in the rain.