OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dicit:

The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA, with the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, utilizing various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway space station, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and a yet-to-be-developed crewed lander. The Space Launch System will serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles are planned for use to launch various other elements of the campaign. NASA requested $1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020, and full funding has yet to be approved by Congress.

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

During the successful test of Orion’s launch abort system, known as Ascent Abort-2, a camera mounted on a ring connecting the crew module and launch abort system to its booster captured a view of Orion escaping the booster. After the booster separated, its motor continued to burn for several seconds and maintained stability, which allowed for a clear, mid-air view of the Orion elements continuing to execute the abort test. About 27 seconds after the abort is initiated and the Orion elements separate from the booster, the launch abort system’s jettison motor is seen firing, releasing the capsule.

The July 2 test demonstrated the Orion’s launch abort system works during high-stress aerodynamic conditions and can pull the capsule to safety if an emergency ever arises during launch. The test was a critical milestone needed to help pave the way for Artemis missions with astronauts.

Video Credit: NASA Johnson

NASA dicit:

What does a half-century of lunar science sound like? Join Moon data expert Ernie Wright on a musical time-traveling journey through the Apollo program and the exploration era of today. We explore what we knew about the Moon before Apollo, what we discovered because of it and the mysteries today’s scientists are working to solve.

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA dicit:

Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientific activity associated with the Moon over time.

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission now celebrates its 10-year anniversary of being at the Moon. After launching on June 18, 2009, and entering lunar orbit on June 23rd, the spacecraft continues to collect vast amounts of data vital to our understanding of the lunar landscape and environment, our solar system, and to our future exploration goals for the Moon and Mars. This video highlights some notable facts and accomplishments of the LRO mission over the past decade, all of which are paving the way forward for reestablishing a human presence on the Moon with the newly announced Artemis program.

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

This visualization of Lee Lincoln scarp is created from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographs and elevation mapping. The scarp is a low ridge or step about 80 meters high and running north-south through the western end of the Taurus-Littrow valley, the site of the Apollo 17 Moon landing. The scarp marks the location of a relatively young, low-angle thrust fault. The land west of the fault was forced up and over the eastern side as the lunar crust contracted. In a May 2019 paper published in Nature Geoscience, Thomas Watters and his coauthors provide evidence that this fault and others like it are still active and producing moonquakes today.

Music by Killer Tracks: Smoke and Mirrors – Gresby Race Nash

Ernie Wright (USRA): Lead Visualizer

David Ladd (USRA): Producer

Tom Watters (Smithsonian/Air and Space): Scientist

Video Credit: NASA Goddard