NASA revealed the brand new Artemis Plan, aimed to send the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface in 2024.
Nearly 50 years after the last human steps on the moon, NASA revealed the plans for the next chapter of space exploration – a 2024 Moon Landing. Plans for the mission came to be after President Trump and his office challenged NASA in 2019 to send astronauts back to the Moon within a 5-year period.
The way NASA presented the current plans for the mission, 2024 is considered the earliest possible time to achieve their goals as long as there are no complications. In other words, the actual landing may or may not happen in 2024 but they are fully dedicated to achieve it in this time frame.
The Artemis Plan, as it has been called, will include a series of test flights and several phases until the final mission to the surface of the Moon happens. Here are 10 things you should know about the future 2024 Moon landing.
1. Phase 1, called Artemis-1, will include creweless test flights in 2021
As mentioned above, the Artemis Plan will include several phases and countless tests to ensure the safety and success of the 2024 Moon landing.
Artemis-1 will include a single test flight around the Moon in 2021. There will be no crew onboard as the purpose will be to test life support and all other equipment.
2. Artemis-2 will make the same flight in 2023 but with a crew onboard
The second flight around the Moon will include a crew of astronauts that will, once again, test all equipment and demonstrate the capabilities of the vehicle.
3. Several space probes will be sent to the Moon each year in preparation for the 2024 Moon Landing
It is confirmed that NASA will send two space probes yearly, starting in 2021.
4. The mission aims to land the first woman on the Moon
NASA has accepted the challenge to land the first woman on the Moon, accompanied by the two next men.
5. The crew will spend a week on the lunar surface
The concept behind the mission includes a one week stay on the lunar surface. The astronauts will collect numerous crucial samples and conduct a number of experiments that will give NASA the necessary information for future Moon landings.
6. The Artemis Plan is only the first step in establishing an active Moon base
The 2024 Moon landing has the purpose to set the foundations of a future establishment on the Moon. According to NASA, there are plans for the establishment of structures on the lunar surface for the end of the current decade.
7. The entire program will cost around $28 billion unless further complications occur
NASA officials confirmed the estimated budget for the entire program but also added that the progress depends on $3.2 billion that have to be approved by the Congress for 2021.
8. Artemis-3 should land on the south pole of the Moon in 2024
If all goes according to plan and there are no further complications like the current delays of the new Space Launch System (SLS), Artemis-3 should land on the south pole of the Moon by the end of 2024.
9. NASA revealed the brand new spacecuits for the 2024 Moon Landing
The brand new modern spacesuits that you see on the photograph above are significantly more advanced than the ones used by astronauts from the Apollo missions decades ago. They should provide more flexibility and freedom of movement that will be beneficial in the 7 days on the Moon.
10. The Artemis Plan will lay the foundations to the future missions to Mars
As NASA officials explained it, the 2024 Moon landing is the first step of many that will help humankind to reach Mars in the future decades. It will begin with a 7-day mission on the lunar surface that will lay the foundations of a future human establishment on the Moon.
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