On our East Coast, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has been refining space theories and bringing more opportunity to the table for space travel for over 60 years. The scientists and technicians there have been hard at work creating new space crafts to give people new knowledge and about everything surrounding our world. On April 1 in the afternoon, the rocket Artemis II lifted off into space, marking another historical step for NASA.
The last time people were sent to the moon was over 50 years ago, on Apollo 17. The Apollo missions proved making it to the moon and space travel was possible, and that’s what we have been doing since. Since then, NASA has sent many things to space through the KSC: such as the Space Shuttle missions to discover more about space; and robotic missions to Mars, satellites and more. These events have led to today, where the Artemis mission sends people into space once again.
Orion, the rocket for this Artemis II mission, is the first of its kind – a new design called the Space Launch System. Half a century of new technology and knowledge has assisted space programs as a whole to add extra features to rockets sending people to space, like safety features, updating technology, updating spacesuits and more.
While in space, Orion will be traveling to the moon, but will not land, so astronauts can test out the new rocket’s technology and safety for future use. This is supposed to be a 10-day mission with the astronaut crew Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist). This is a milestone mission, since the crew includes the first women [Christina Koch] and the first African-American man [Victor Glover] to take part in a lunar mission to space, and the first Canadian [Jeremy Hansen] to head to the moon ever.
This mission is to lead towards more human missions to the moon, to learn more about it first-hand and prepare for more difficult missions, like the first people on Mars. This is a milestone mission, leading and inspiring the new generation in space and to a brighter future.
