Back to the future
NASA will send astronauts back to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17
Mission to the Moon
Mission Duration: 10 Days
Distance travelled: 620,000 miles
1
Artemis II launches in Florida
3
6
2
Orion separates from launch vehicle, tests manual flight
1
3
Orion moves to higher Earth orbit
7
2
4
Main engines fire
5
Lunar flyby passing 6,479 miles behind the 'dark side' of the moon
4
6
Crew module separates
7
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean
5
The SLS Rocket
Space Launch System rocket: $23.8 billion
Orion deep space capsule: $20.4 billion
SLS 98m
Orion spacecraft
Big Ben
96m
Four astronauts onboard to carry out tests to confirm systems work
Parachute
Orion stage
adapter
Launch vehicle
stage adapter
Thruster to steer
during re-entry
On re-entry, heat shield protects capsule from 2,760C (5,000F) temperatures as it enters Earth’s atmosphere at 24,700mph. Parachutes deploy at 24,000ft to slow craft down to soft landing in Pacific Ocean at 20mph
Space Shuttle
56m
Solid rocket
boosters
RS-25 engines
Four RS-25 engines will fire non-stop for 8.5 minutes. With the two boosters, this produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust, more than any rocket in history
Mission to the Moon
Mission Duration: 10 Days
Distance travelled: 620,000 miles
1
Artemis II launches in Florida
3
6
2
Orion separates from launch vehicle, tests manual flight
1
3
Orion moves to higher Earth orbit
7
2
4
Main engines fire
5
Lunar flyby passing 6,479 miles behind the 'dark side' of the moon
4
6
Crew module separates
7
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean
5
The SLS Rocket
Space Launch System rocket: $23.8 billion
Orion deep space capsule: $20.4 billion
SLS 98m
Orion spacecraft
Big Ben
96m
Four astronauts onboard to carry out tests to confirm systems work
Parachute
Orion stage
adapter
Launch vehicle
stage adapter
Thruster to steer
during re-entry
On re-entry, heat shield protects capsule from 2,760C (5,000F) temperatures as it enters Earth’s atmosphere at 24,700mph. Parachutes deploy at 24,000ft to slow craft down to soft landing in Pacific Ocean at 20mph
Space Shuttle
56m
Solid rocket
boosters
RS-25 engines
Four RS-25 engines will fire non-stop for 8.5 minutes. With the two boosters, this produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust, more than any rocket in history
Artemis II
The SLS Rocket
Artemis II launches in Florida
3
6
SLS 98m
Orion spacecraft
Four astronauts onboard to carry out tests to confirm systems work
Orion separates from launch vehicle, tests manual flight
1
Parachute
Orion moves to higher Earth orbit
7
Orion stage
adapter
2
Big Ben
96m
Main engines fire
Thruster to steer
during re-entry
Lunar flyby passing 6,479 miles behind the 'dark side' of the moon
4
On re-entry, heat shield protects capsule from 2,760C (5,000F) temperatures as it enters Earth’s atmosphere at 24,700mph. Parachutes deploy at 24,000ft to slow craft down to soft landing in Pacific Ocean at 20mph
6
Crew module separates
Space Shuttle
56m
7
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean
5
RS-25 engines
Mission to the Moon
Four RS-25 engines will fire non-stop for 8.5 minutes. With the two boosters, this produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust, more than any rocket in history
Mission Duration: 10 Days
Solid rocket
boosters
Distance travelled: 620,000 miles
Orion deep space capsule: $20.4 billion
Space Launch System rocket: $23.8 billion
NASA, Canada Space Agency