The next spacecraft designated to transport humans around the moon has been successfully delivered to NASA, the sole space agency on Earth that has previously accomplished crewed missions to our closest celestial body. The Orion capsule, intended for the Artemis 2 mission, has been officially transferred to NASA from its primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, as of Thursday, May 1, according to a company statement. Subsequently, Orion will be moved to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will undergo final testing and processing before being integrated with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which is currently being assembled in NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC. This facility will serve as the final location for both the rocket and Orion prior to their deployment to the launch pad. NASA reported that the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for SLS was delivered to the VAB on April 15. In addition to confirming the development tests and checkouts of Orion, Lockheed Martin was tasked with enhancing the life support and other critical systems necessary for crew operations, including audio communication, an exercise device, and the spacecraft’s launch abort system.
The Artemis 2 mission is slated for launch in early 2026, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a free return trajectory around the moon. This mission will take them beyond Earth’s orbit, allowing Orion to utilize a slingshot maneuver around the moon before returning to Earth. Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of Human Space Exploration, remarked in the statement that the completion of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis 2 represents a significant advancement in the nation’s commitment to establishing a sustainable lunar presence.Artemis 2 will serve as the second mission within the Artemis program, which seeks to create a permanent lunar outpost as a precursor to a crewed mission to Mars. Following the successful uncrewed flight of Orion to lunar orbit and back during Artemis 1 in late 2022, NASA is now aiming for a 2027 launch of Artemis 3, marking the first time astronauts will land on the moon since 1972. Initially, Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 were anticipated to launch this year and the next, respectively; however, damage sustained by Orion’s heat shield during atmospheric re-entry at the conclusion of Artemis 1 has necessitated a delay of over a year for both missions.
