Finally! NASA is bringing humans closer to the Moon with the Artemis II mission

Launch of the SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft containing four astronauts (photo: doc. NASA)

JAKARTA - NASA finally brought humans around the Moon again, even without landing. This launch was carried out on Thursday, April 2 at around 05.35 WIB.

There are four astronauts who were brought on this historic mission, including NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The four of them flew on the Orion spacecraft.

The spacecraft was propelled by a SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. This is the first lunar orbiting mission since NASA carried out the Apollo mission more than 50 years ago.

About an hour after launch, the rocket's upper stage ignited to push the Orion capsule into a higher Earth orbit. The capsule, dubbed 'Integrity', flew autonomously after separating from its main booster.

After reaching orbit, the Orion spacecraft will deploy solar panels to get an energy supply from the Sun. The team of engineers on the ground will continue to monitor the system's transition from the launch phase to full flight operations.

NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman, stated that this mission marks the return of humanity to the Moon. The main focus of this mission is not just a visit, but preparation to build a permanent base on the Moon.

In addition to carrying astronauts, this mission also carries four small satellites from various partner countries such as Argentina, Germany, Korea, and Saudi Arabia. The satellites were launched to conduct various scientific investigations and technology demonstrations in space.

On April 6, the astronauts are scheduled to conduct a close-up flight to observe the far side of the Moon. They will be the first humans to see craters and ridges in this area that is rarely touched by light.

If all the system testing runs smoothly, the Moon's gravity will catapult the Orion capsule back to Earth. The crew is planned to land safely in the Pacific Ocean after completing the test mission.

The success of Artemis II will be the opening for subsequent landing missions. After the Artemis II mission is completed, NASA will focus on Artemis III before finally landing humans on the Moon via Artemis IV.