Artemis 1 Launch to Open Next Generation of Moon Exploration, Test Human Lunar Return Technologies, Deliver 10 Deep Space CubeSats
NASA Space Launch System / Orion set to launch NET 29 August 08:33-10:33 EDT – putting mission on 42-day route to ~100-km Moon flyby / 70,000-km Distant Retrograde Orbit; Alternate launch dates 2 or 5 September; SLS will be 3rd lunar launch of 2022, after CAPSTONE and Danuri, possibly followed by landings of ispace, Luna-25, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines; Most powerful rocket built will provide ~39,000 kN (8.8M lbs) of lift-off thrust and help re-establish humans as Multi World Species, utilizing Luna as next big step into Galaxy; Millions online, >100,000 in-person expected to watch live
Potential landing areas for Artemis 3, with crewmembers including the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, to be revealed at media teleconference with NASA officials (L-R) Mark Kirasich, Jacob Bleacher, Sarah Noble and Prasun Desail; Regions are within 6° of MSP, are of scientific interest and contain viable landing sites; Criteria including communication coverage, illumination, and topographical considerations given weight in decision; NASA to outreach to “broader science community” to make final human landing site selection; 
AIAA Small Spacecraft Technical Committee honors Capstone at 36th SmallSat Conference in Utah; Partners on the <US$30M mission include Advanced Space / PI Bradley Cheetham, providing overall project management, Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (set to interface with LRO) and Ballistic Lunar Transfer / Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit trajectories; Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems (founded by Jordi Puig-Suari of Cal Poly, co-inventor of the CubeSat standard) and parent company Terran Orbital, who designed, built and operate 25kg, 12U Capstone; Stellar Exploration, manufacturer of hydrazine propulsion system; Launch provider Rocket Lab
Artemis 1 launching to Moon orbit NET 29 Aug with 10 rideshare cubesats, NASA test dummy Commander Moonikin Campos, DLR / ISA torso radiation ‘phantoms’ Helga & Zohar, mascots Snoopy & Shaun the Sheep; Race to landings led by ispace, aiming for Nov launch, Astrobotic working to launch NET Dec, seeking to acquire Masten assets with US$4.5M bid; Intuitive Machines striving for Jan 2023 followed by ISRO Chandrayaan-3 NET Q1, JAXA SLIM NET March and Roscosmos Luna-25 NET September; Xplore of Redmond WA and Turkish Space Agency have also declared for uncrewed lunar orbit in 2023, SpaceX plans crewed dearMoon
Long-awaited USA flagship spacecraft Artemis 1, comprised of $US23B+ Boeing / Northrop Grumman developed Space Launch System (SLS) and $20B+ / 4-crew Lockheed Martin Orion capsule slated to roll out to LC-39B at KSC 18 Aug ahead of 29 Aug launch to Moon; 42-day mission includes 4-day outbound phase, 6-day retrograde orbit; 5-m diameter, 186-piece AVCOAT heatshield must withstand 2,760°C while travelling 11 km/s upon reentry, a record for human-rated craft; “Any one of our 42 active astronauts is eligible” for Artemis 2/3 human Moon Missions, per Astronaut Office Chief Reid Wiseman
Summer around Moon well underway with KARI KPLO Danuri joining NASA Capstone (operated by Advanced Space) on fuel efficient ballistic lunar transfer trajectory; Danuri expected to reach Moon orbit by 16 Dec, Capstone to arrive 13 Nov; NASA Artemis 1 (SLS megarocket + Orion crew capsule) to take direct 4-day trans-lunar injection route, rollout to KSC pad 39B anticipated 19 Aug, nominal launch date set for 29 Aug; ispace Hakuto-R targets launch to Lacus Somniorum ‘Lake of Dreams’ in Nov; Astrobotic Peregrine working towards Q4 launch to Lacus Mortis ‘Lake of Death’
Draper Laboratory to carry 3 NASA instruments to Schrödinger basin (75.0°S, 132.4°E) on lunar far side NET 2025 under 8th CLPS task order / US$73M contract; 2 Blue Canyon cislunar relay satellites to be deployed prior to landing and operated by Advanced Space; Draper team includes ispace, General Atomics, Systima Technologies; First USA mission to target lunar far side would mark 2nd nation to explore hemisphere after China; Anchor payloads include Lunar Surface ElectroMagnetics Experiment (LuSEE), Lunar Interior Temperature and Materials Suite (LITMS), Farside Seismic Suite (FSS)
