NASA’s Artemis moon mission program regularly faces a wide range of questions about its goals, schedule, costs, and more from members of Congress, regulators, corporations, and even the American public.
Never-before-seen questions were recently posed in the lead-up to the plan to return U.S. astronauts to the moon for the first time since Apollo.
Are Artemis 3’s missions too ambitious?
Notably, this concern was not raised by any known suspects, special interests, or competing political parties. It was NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Committee.
ASAP, an independent group that reports to both NASA and Congress and prioritizes safety, has been in existence since the Apollo 1 tragedy in 1967. The group is 2023 Annual Report, And I took a look (welcome to another version of “I read this, so you don’t have to!”).
Most of the report covers the familiar recommendations and feedback to NASA, but then I noticed ASAP’s emphasis on how many “firsts” the Artemis 3 goal includes. I did.
Two items that ASAP repeatedly emphasizes stand out to me. HLS (Human Landing System) elements, aka SpaceX’s Lunar Starship, and EVA (Extravehicular Activity) spacesuits. These are his two key parts of the Artemis 3 plan, and since they won’t be tested in the Artemis 2 mission, they will debut in the most high-profile upcoming mission.
“With all of these and other important technical firsts occurring during this single mission, the Panel is genuinely concerned that they pose an even greater cumulative risk to the already difficult and complex Artemis III flight. ,” the report states.
ASAP advised NASA to consider redistributing the Artemis 3 milestone more evenly among other missions. Otherwise, it will face “extraordinary pressures to timely execute a schedule that is in many ways beyond NASA’s complete control.”
I think Artemis’ broad ambitions are wonderful, so I think the ASAP concerns actually present an opportunity for NASA. Expand the name “Artemis Mission” to include not only the Orion capsule flight, but also other related but currently understated efforts. Will a crew-type vehicle fly to the moon? Call it Artemis Mission! If Orion’s unmanned flight around the moon is an Artemis mission, then the first uncrewed HLS landing should also be an Artemis mission. Because it’s probably just as important to the goal of landing a man on the moon.
As it stands, Artemis’ mission only lasts a few years. NASA should change this to reallocate the risks assumed by ASAP and better highlight key milestones toward the long-term goal of sustained presence on the moon. I think.
ASAP report concludes: Under current plans, Artemis 2 could be realized by (already delayed). Goals for the second half of 2025but the long list of accomplishments that have to happen in the meantime pretty much guarantees that Artemis 3 won’t launch until 12 months later.