HAMPTON ROADS — It’s no secret that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been preparing to send people back to the Moon.
The NASA’s lunar program is called Artemis.
The program is named after the twin sister of Greek mythological figure, Apollo, and pays homage to NASA’s lunar program from the 1960s named for the Ancient Grecian god.
One of the major goals of NASA’s program is to establish a sustainable presence on the moon. This includes conducting experiments and setting up habitats while also laying the groundwork to send people to Mars in future missions.
With the Artemis program, NASA also has the goal to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon’s surface sometime in the mid-2020s.
Artemis I is the first in a series of missions that will help obtain these several goals.
The unmanned mission uses a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion Spacecraft. The expected launch date for Artemis I will be at the beginning of June 2022.
At a recent community partner meeting, a presentation cited that many of the contributions to the Artemis program have been made right here in Hampton Roads at NASA Langley Research Center.
Some of these contributions include Langley’s Hydro Impact Basin and also that several test versions of the spacecraft have been tested at the research center.
NASA Langley Research Center is known as the birthplace of America’s human space exploration. This was the location where, 50 years ago, the Apollo program was started.
The Center is now 105 years old and continues its legacy with its ongoing contributions to space exploration.
According to the presentation, there are, “147 Virginia companies that supported Langley and NASA in building Artemis.”
NASA is helping to organize “watch parties” with other organizations within Hampton Roads.
More information on those watch parties can be found on NASA’s Eventbrite webpage.
NASA Langley is emphasizing awareness programs in order to show support of the new mission.
Additionally, the department also developed other programs to help get children involved in learning about Artemis I:
- “The Adventure of Commander Moonkin Campos and Friends” web comic: According to the presentation, this web comic is fully-illustrated details the journey of Commander Moonkin Campos and his his friends as they launch in the Space Launch System (SLS) and travel aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission. More information on the comic can be found on NASA’s wesbite.
- “You Are Going: A Story About Artemis” children’s story: This children’s story, which was illustrated by Shane Tolentino, a former NASA intern, is a visually-dynamic telling of the Artemis mission and its future possibilities. This story can be found online at NASA’s website.
- Additionally, NASA provides STEM Education Resources for educators to include a lesson plan about the program.
NASA also maintains a blog where it provides updates on Artemis I.
For more information about this and other programs from NASA Langley Research Center, please visit its website or follow it on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
