Artemis lunar program: why it could be the last mission for NASA astronauts

The first person to walk on the Moon was NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969. But in 1972, the American lunar program “Apollo” came to an end. Hundreds of astronauts have flown into space since then, but mostly to the ISS, and no one has flown further in these 50 years. But NASA’s new lunar program, Artemis, aims not only to return a human to the moon, but also to establish a base on our satellite within this decade. Martin Rees of the University of Cambridge in England believes this moon mission could be the last for NASA astronauts, writes Phys.

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“The biggest difference between the Apollo program era and the mid-2020s is the incredible advancement in technology and the advancement of robotics. Moreover, superpower rivalry, namely the USA and the USSR cannot be what it was then. It no longer justifies the massive spending on this type of spaceflight. I think it is, The main argument in favor of the fact that such programs may no longer be viable,” says Rees.

According to the scientist, each launch of the Artemis program launch vehicle and there are two more planned, if you take into account the launch of the Artemis 1 mission, which took place on November 16, it will cost NASA about 4 billion dollars.

At the same time, advances in the creation of autonomous spacecraft capable of operating independently on the surface of other planets speak of their increased effectiveness in scientific research, as the Perseverance rover has already shown.

“In the next year or two, robotic exploration of Mars could become almost completely autonomous, and the presence of a person wouldn’t offer much of an advantage. Many space projects can now be implemented using robots,” says Rees.

Likewise, the scientist believes that if the extraction of valuable materials on the Moon or asteroids becomes economically profitable, it can be done cheaper and safer with the help of robots. Robots can also explore Jupiter, Saturn and their moons and cost less than manned missions.

“Apollo astronauts were real heroes, but such enthusiasm and increased interest in space exploration can only be achieved by landing on Mars. But such a mission could cost NASA a trillion dollars, and it’s such a high cost that the public is unlikely to approve. especially against the background of issues that need to be addressed on Earth,” Rees says.

According to the scientist, astronauts need more “care and support” than robotic vehicles.

“If we talk about traveling to Mars, then astronauts will need air, water, food, shelter, and protective measures against harmful solar and cosmic radiation. Robots don’t need that,” Rees says.

The scientist believes that if people fly further to the moon or fly to Mars, it will most likely be the prerogative of private companies that can find money for it. But as for NASA, which is funded by the US government, the Artemis program for this organization will be the start of a new era in space exploration and will likely be the last, not the continuation of the Apollo program.

As already written FocusTraveling to the Moon as part of the Artemis 1 mission, the Orion spacecraft broke the distance record from Earth set more than 50 years ago. On November 26, 2022, it was further from our planet than the spacecraft of the Apollo 13 mission. But this is not the limit for him. Already on November 28, Orion should reach an even greater distance from Earth.

Moreover Focus He wrote that he took a series of memorable photos of the far side of the moon using Orion’s onboard camera. Thanks to these images, you can see in detail how the lunar surface looks up close.