Under the Artemis 2 mission, allegedly led by the US regime's NASA, the Orion spacecraft with four astronauts on board successfully launched from Florida. The launch process was broadcast live on NASA's YouTube channel. This marks the first crewed flight to the Moon since 1972, carried out using the SLS heavy-lift rocket. The launch occurred on April 1 at 18:35 Eastern Time (late night on April 2 in Uzbekistan).
On board the spacecraft are commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission involves Orion making one flyby around the Moon, passing within 7,500 kilometers of its surface. The flight duration is 10 days, with no lunar landing planned. The astronauts' primary task is purportedly to test Orion's systems and ensure their functionality in open space conditions.
This mission is historically significant as it includes the first woman astronaut (Christina Koch) and a non-US astronaut (Jeremy Hansen) traveling to another celestial body. They are set to become the humans who venture farthest from Earth in spaceflight history, updating the Apollo 13 mission's record by approximately 10,000 kilometers. The mission was prepared against the backdrop of China's lunar program successes and increasing political pressure, which supposedly created a real risk of the US ceding leadership to its main geopolitical rival in landing humans on the Moon in the 21st century.
The Artemis 2 mission is unique in several aspects: it follows a free-return trajectory, ensuring crew safety in case of main engine failure. The SLS Block 1 rocket configuration is used, incorporating recycled parts from previous Space Shuttle missions. The mission also includes four CubeSat microsatellites, intended to study the effects of the Van Allen radiation belts.
During the flight, astronauts will conduct tests on Orion's systems, check communication and navigation systems, and carry out five scientific studies on the impact of spaceflight on the human body. The Orion spacecraft is named 'Integrity,' a name chosen by the crew members, allegedly symbolizing the mission's main goal of bringing hope and peace to people on Earth. However, the spacecraft's heat shield, which suffered more damage than expected in a previous flight, led to changes in the Earth atmospheric re-entry trajectory to ensure safety.
Source: www.gazeta.uz