April 1 (US time), the Artemis II spacecraft left its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, taking 4 astronauts to begin its journey around the Moon, marking an important step forward for NASA after more than half a century since Apollo.
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion took off at 6:35 pm (local time). The launch time was delayed by more than 10 minutes due to the detection of abnormal temperatures in a battery of the de-launch system, which was later identified as a device error and did not affect the plan.
After leaving the launch pad, the Orion spacecraft flew around Earth's orbit to test the system. Engineers in Houston confirmed that four solar panels have been successfully deployed, ensuring power for the entire journey. It is expected that the spacecraft will activate the engine to change its orbit and move towards the Moon.
The mission lasted 10 days, with a distance of about 2.25 million kilometers, taking the crew around the Moon without landing. This is the first time since 1972 that humans have returned to the space area near the Moon.
The crew included Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and two experts Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen. The mission marked many milestones when Mr. Glover became the first black astronaut to fly close to the Moon, Ms. Koch was the first woman to carry out this journey and Mr. Hansen was the first non-American to fly out of low Earth orbit.
Artemis II uses Orion spacecraft placed on top of SLS, NASA's main launch system for lunar missions. This is SLS's first manned flight, after being tested unmanned in Artemis I in 2022.
During the journey, the spacecraft will fly about 393,000km to the Moon, perform a "free return" orbit to return to Earth, and is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
The mission aims to verify important systems in the deep space environment, creating a foundation for the goal of establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon. The Artemis program aims at the next steps, including mounting ships in orbit and landing in future missions.
However, Artemis II still faces many technical challenges, from the missile system that once encountered leakage to the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft. The crew will also go through a period of loss of contact when the ship enters the back of the Moon.
The mission is considered an important step to help the US restore manned deep space flight capabilities, while opening up prospects for long-term plans on the Moon and beyond.
