After half a century, humanity heads for the moon again

NASA is resuming its manned lunar exploration mission after 52 years. Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 2 at 7:24 a.m. Korean time (April 1 at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time).

Four astronauts will be on board this mission, including Reed Williams (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), and Christina Koch (mission specialist) from NASA, and Jeremy Hanson (mission specialist) from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). They will begin their journey toward the moon by performing 'Trans-Lunar Injection' combustion about 24 hours after launch.

Why this mission is important

Artemis 2 is not a simple lunar flight, but a key verification step for a future manned lunar landing. Following Artemis 1, which was launched unmanned in 2022, this time, the manned flight performance of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft will be inspected for the first time.

The highlight of the mission is when the astronauts pass through the far side of the moon and approach a distance of about 8,000 km. At this time, the moon will appear the size of a basketball, and the crew will directly observe the color, lighting, and rock types of the lunar surface.

Astronauts also conduct scientific experiments to study their bodies' reactions in a radiation environment higher than that of the International Space Station (ISS). NASA is also planning communication between the ISS and the Orion spacecraft, which could create an unprecedented scene in space history.

Live broadcast and return schedule

NASA plans to broadcast live 24 hours a day throughout most of the mission through the Orion spacecraft's external cameras. Video quality may deteriorate somewhat depending on distance and data traffic, but videos of the astronauts' daily communications will also be released.

After completing a journey of about 10 days, Artemis 2 is scheduled to land off the coast of San Diego, and the U.S. Navy will support the recovery of the Orion spacecraft. The exact return time has not yet been announced, but related videos will also be broadcast live through NASA.

As this mission is in the stage of developing the procedures and systems for the Artemis program, all schedules are subject to change depending on circumstances.