As one NASA speaker properly put it in a press conference today (Sept. 23), Artemis 2 is part of a long series of tests to eventually put humans on the moon for long periods of time.
SpaceQ readers will recall the Artemis 1 mission of 2022, which sent the Orion spacecraft on its second flight to space following a shorter, orbital test mission in 2014. In 2022, Artemis 1’s Orion launched atop the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) for the first time, flying around the moon and then back to Earth in a test to make sure the spacecraft was ready for humans.
Artemis 1 largely fulfilled the mission objectives, although some unexpected charring behaviour with the heat shield as well as other technical items led – as was expected, of developmental missions – to delays in launching the human follow-up. That mission, Artemis 2, may be ready to go as soon as February 2026.
Artemis 2 is a big moment for Canada. Flying on board the mission will be the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, who has been with the corps since 2009 in a variety of high-profile background roles. He was the scheduler for the 2017 astronaut class, for example, and helped coordinate the highly difficult spacewalks to maintain a dark-matter facility aboard the International Space Station.
Hansen, however, remains unflown – initially because CSA has an approximately 2.3% share of International Space Station activities. In recent decades, that funding – through Canadarm2 and related robotics, like Dextre – translated to an astronaut seat for a six-month mission about every six years. Chris Hadfield flew in 2012-13 while Hansen shortly after Hansen finished astronaut candidate training, then Hansen’s astronaut class colleague David Saint-Jacques was selected in 2018. (Following the cycle, Josh Kurtyk, a later entrant to the corps, will fly an ISS mission no earlier than 2026 depending on if his assigned Boeing Starliner goes as expected, or if he is reassigned.)
All this left Hansen unassigned to a mission until the opportunity of Artemis came along. Artemis is funded slightly differently: CSA, though manufacturer MDA Space, is contributing the Canadarm3 to NASA’s expected Gateway space station. Canada is also a signatory to the NASA-led Artemis Accords, which are both policy devices and for those nations who so choose, hardware opportunities to pay for astronaut seats. Canadarm3 is not Canada’s only contribution to lunar exploration, but it’s by far the biggest – and ongoing robotics work will pay for Hansen’s seat as well as future CSA Gateway missions and probably, moon landings as well.
Hansen, a mission specialist, was officially assigned to Artemis 2 in April 2023, and has mostly been working quietly on his training alongside his veteran NASA crewmates: Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot) and Christina Koch (mission specialist). Now that the flight date in this developmental mission appears to be near, NASA is holding several press conferences this week to overview the mission’s goals and expectations. This article from SpaceQ goes over the first of these conferences with mission managers on Sept. 23.
Simply put, Artemis 2 is a test flight that could allow for Artemis 3 to land on the lunar surface later in the decade – assuming SpaceX’s Starship is ready on NASA’s timeline, which is a discussion of its own as Starship is running a test program and still demonstrating some of the basics. Orion, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, will bring the four astronauts into space for 10 days atop SLS to demonstrate the life support systems, the display capabilities, the software and other key elements of the Orion spacecraft.
Orion will spend the first part of its mission circling Earth, allowing the astronauts to test handling capabilities and assuring it is ready for the first translunar injection by astronauts since 1972. Before leaving, the spacecraft will do an apogee raised burn and a proximity operations demonstration next to the upper SLS stage, in preparation for future moon-landing operations.
The spacecraft will be sent on a “free-return trajectory” to the moon similar to what was used by Apollo 8. That puts the spacecraft on a path that should, using the physics of the Earth’s gravity and the moon’s gravity, allow for a natural slingshot without major course corrections. Then the spacecraft will come back to Earth, reenter the atmosphere, and perform a splashdown.
That takes care of the space side; on the ground side, a mission management team will be activated about two days before launch to examine overall risk management for each of the milestones of the mission, big and small. Both senior leaders and technical experts will be on this team, NASA emphasized, to allow for “real-time decision making.” Meetings will take place at least daily – more often if mission events warrant – up to splashdown.
Here is what to expect up to launch, which is targeted between February and April 2026:
Testing: Orion is in final preparations at the launch abort facility at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. In about a week, it will be brought to the nearby KSC Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the SLS, which is nearly ready. The Orion stage adapter still remains to be mated as of this writing, but that should be ready later this week. After stacking comes a lengthy test campaign: examples are end-to-end comms testing, interface verifications, a countdown demonstration test with crew (a new test, as the standard for crewed flights) and a flight demonstration test.
Rollout and pad ops: After a 6.5-km journey to the launch pad, engineers will connect the mobile launcher (atop which SLS and Orion are stacked) and the pad for another round of testing – examples include comms and emergency egress. The big one everyone will be watching for is the wet dress rehearsal, which took several tries with Artemis 1.
Launch: The countdown will be two days long; the crew comes to to the pad after tanking and a built-in hold. The crew will do comms checks and assist with configuration and count down to T-10 minutes. Assuming no contingencies or constraints, countdown will proceed – after a hold – to T-5 minutes, 25 seconds. Following that comes a series of procedures including terminating propellant to the vehicle, pressurizing flight tanks, transitioning to internal power, then transitioning software to the flight vehicle. At T-31 seconds, countdown continues with go for core stage engine start around T-10 seconds. Booster ignition and liftoff happens next, and the launch control team will then transfer control to the flight control team.
Major orbital activities: There are many setup activities going on, but notable items include the apogee raise maneuver to get Orion to an initial 100-by-1200 nautical mile orbit, then a perigee raise maneuver. Once the crew gets into an interim 38,000 nautical mile orbit, they will perform a proximity operations demonstration with the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Then the stage will move away from Orion. The crew will spend roughly 24 hours in their high orbit to do these activities and prepare for trans-lunar injection. This will be a long checkout period (as well as an opportunity or two for the crew to rest) before heading out to the moon.
TLI contingency options: If TLI doesn’t work out as planned, depending on the main engine issue it’s possible that the Orion could recover the maneuver with its auxiliary engines. Or NASA may choose to “stay another rev” near Earth and try again, if propellant flow is at issue. There is also the ability to do an abort if needed, but that would take a few days to bring the crew home.
Major moon/return activities: Mostly, Orion is in a test flight to ensure its systems operate correctly. Science will also be performed on board, and there is also – not incidentally – the first crewed lunar flyby in decades. They will be at least 5,000 nautical miles above the moon, higher than Apollo but still allowing for a good view. A series of minor correction burns are ready if the pathway back home requires it, and then the crew will be near Earth for reentry.
Major landing activities: The crew will do a short conference with Mission Control ahead of landing. They will stow all unneeded items and do a last trajectory correction maneuver to aim for the eastern Pacific Ocean near San Diego. The crew will don orange survival suits while the ground team does its final spacecraft configurations, such as getting backup flight software ready in case it is needed. A test firing of the thrusters will be performed to make sure it is ready for entry, and the service module will be disposed of roughly 20 minutes before re-entry. Thrusters will be fired just before entry to make final adjustments for the entry angle. Bank maneuvers will be performed inside the atmosphere, using entry guidance flight software, and the parachutes will begin their series of deployments at 24,000 feet.
Recovery: Recovery operations will then be performed by the U.S. Navy, approaching on small boats just like during the Apollo years. Once the crew is ready, they will be picked up from those boats on two helicopters for arrival at a nearby vessel’s medical bay for post-flight checkups. Nominally, the crew will come ashore in San Diego and head to Houston for normal post-flight processing, while Orion will be processed in San Diego before transportation to KSC.
Some words about Hansen: Partly prompted by Canadian media asking questions, NASA did speak a little bit about the significance of CSA and Hansen joining the mission. Hansen will be the first non-American to leave low Earth orbit, creating a Canadian history moment.
“Many countries still see NASA and America’s leadership as very important for the future of space exploration. And partnering with Canada, partnering with Jeremy, going with our NASA team is a first step in demonstrating that,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s acting deputy associate administrator of exploration mission systems. Hawkins added that unlike Apollo, NASA felt there was a strategic standpoint to share “resources” with other countries in Artemis.
Jeff Radigan, lead Artemis 2 flight director, called Hansen “a pleasure to work with, and a fantastic astronaut.” He mentioned Hansen’s curiosity as one thing that stood out. “There’s a lot of times where he’ll ask, ‘Hey, why are we doing this?’ … And I have to provide them [the crew] an answer. And of course, every once in a while, I start thinking to myself, ‘Well, why are we doing this? Why? Why can’t we do it a little bit differently? Why can’t we do it a little bit better?’ “
Radigan paid tribute to the “inquisitive nature” of Hansen, saying that it “demands a level of rigor” in tune with NASA’s attention to detail. “He’s one of the most curious people I’ve ever met in my time here,” Radigan said, and also joked that he can hear “a little bit of the Canadian accent” from time to time.
Here is the full list of participants in the Sept. 23 management briefing:
- Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
- Judd Frieling, lead Artemis II ascent flight director, NASA Johnson
- Jeff Radigan, lead Artemis II flight director, NASA Johnson
- Rick Henfling, lead Artemis II entry flight director, NASA Johnson
- Daniel Florez, test director, Exploration Ground Systems, NASA Kennedy