2023 is shaping up as a crucial 12 months in NASA’s Artemis space program, following last year’s successful Artemis 1 mission. Christian Annesley weighs progress – and the always-crucial role of cryogenics
It is three months now since NASA’s unmanned Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft completed its 1.4 million-mile trip to the Moon and back. The formal homecoming to mark the craft’s return to the Kennedy Space Center was at the tail-end of last year, on December 30th.
Artemis 1 returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11th. After the USS Portland recovered the unmanned crew vehicle and brought it to Naval Base San Diego on December 13th, the capsule began an overland trek to Florida the next day.
Artemis 1’s record-breaking journey began, let’s remember, on November 16th, with a dazzling night-time launch atop NASA’s next-generation Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket.
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