아르테미스 2호, 역사적 비행 임박

NASA's Artemis 2 has begun final preparations for launch on April 1. In this mission, astronaut Christina Koch will become the first woman to leave low Earth orbit (LEO) and fly into lunar orbit.

Koch is a veteran astronaut who has spent more than 300 days on the International Space Station (ISS). In 2019, she successfully completed the first female solo spacewalk with Jessica Mayer.

The Artemis 2 crew consists of a total of four people. Commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hanson will fly with Koch. Glover becomes the first black person to fly out of low-Earth orbit, and Hanson becomes the first non-American astronaut to orbit the Moon.

10일간의 달 궤도 비행 계획

The crew is expected to stay in space for about 10 days. First, the Orion spacecraft will test how it operates in a manned state in Earth orbit, and then follow a path to orbit the moon and return to Earth. This mission will serve as a key foundation for Artemis 4's manned lunar landing in 2028.

"It is not an individual achievement, but the result of the entire team."

In an interview held at NASA Johnson Space Center in September last year, Koch expressed his thoughts about the mission.

“I feel an incredible privilege and responsibility,” Koch said. “Our crew bonded as a team very quickly, thanks to the values ​​developed through years of living together in the astronaut corps.”

Koch emphasized the role of the wider team, including the flight control team and launch control team. “We are solving problems together that no one knows the answer to. Everyone is trying to contribute to the best of their ability.”

He added that this mission was not an individual achievement. "The right decisions made decades ago have allowed today's astronaut corps to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to solve our most difficult problems. This is truly something to celebrate, and I am honored to be a part of it."