Explained: The significance of NASA’s Artemis mission, the beginning of a new age of human exploration of the Moon

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: The significance of NASA’s Artemis mission, the beginning of a new age of human exploration of the Moon” published in Indian Express on 30th August 2022.

What is the News?

NASA has postponed the Artemis 1 mission launch. The mission has been postponed due to an issue with one of the RS-25 engines, which powers the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

What is Artemis Mission?

Source: Al Jazeera

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Why is NASA going back to the moon again?

According to NASA, it is going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers.

With Artemis’s missions, NASA also plans to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon.

What new things scientists have discovered about the moon in recent decades?

​​Scientists have discovered that the Moon is not as dry as they had thought.

There is frozen water at the bottom of eternally dark craters at the poles. This can provide drinking water for future astronauts visiting the Moon, and water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen.

The oxygen could provide breathable air; oxygen and hydrogen could be used as rocket propellants. Thus, the Moon, or a refueling station in orbit around the Moon, could serve as a stop for spacecraft to refill their tanks before heading into the solar system.

Moreover, the ices, if they were ancient accumulations over several billion years, could even provide a scientific history book of the solar system.