NASA released new details of the Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027 year. It was supposed to end with the landing of astronauts on the moon, but in February 2026 year, the agency changed its plans. Now, within the limits of this flight, the docking in the Earth's orbit will be worked out, which will be a preparatory step for the actual lunar expedition of Artemis IV.
Four astronauts will go into orbit around the Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched by the SLS rocket (Space Launch System). There they will dock with one or both lunar landing modules, which are developed by private companies: SpaceX is building Starship, а Blue Origin – Blue Moon Mark 2. Which of these devices or both together will take part in the mission, not yet decided.
The agency reported, that Orion will enter low Earth orbit, and astronauts will spend more time on board, than during Artemis II, to check the life support systems in more detail. A technical solution is also provided for Artemis III, dictated by economy. Instead of a true ICPS upper temporary cryogenic stage (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage) a placeholder layout with the same geometric parameters will be installed. Since the mission does not go beyond the Earth's orbit, functional degree, that drives the ship to the moon, not needed. Work on the mock-up is already underway at the Marshall Space Center in Alabama.
Many details are yet to be determined: duration of the mission, crew composition, перелік наукових завдань і порядок випробування нових скафандрів Artemis від компанії Axiom Space. NASA також шукає пропозиції щодо покращення зв’язку із Землею, оскільки мережа далекого космосу Deep Space Network у цій місії залучена не буде. In addition, агенція розглядає можливість запуску невеликих кубсатів на орбіту Землі як додаткової складової польоту.
Source: https://universemagazine.com