During the 20th century, NASA was able to land humans on the Moon via the Apollo missions. This has remained one of the space agency's greatest achievements that they are now trying to replicate with the Artemis mission. They have chosen National Geographic to record this historical event as humankind goes back to the lunar surface.
NASA announced their selection of the exploration-focused media company on Friday, October 29, with a goal to assist in telling the first crewed mission after almost five decades to launch astronauts around the Moon.
Artemis Missions
NASA hopes to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon with the Artemis missions using innovative technologies that will help them explore the lunar surface.
More so, the missions will be an opportunity for scientific discovery, produce economic benefits, and will inspire the new generation of explorers, which NASA dubs as the Artemis Generation. Although the missions will maintain the American leadership in exploration, they will also foster global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of humankind.
One of their plans is to build infrastructures or elements that will allow both astronauts and robots to explore more and conduct scientific experiments on the Moon by building an Artemis Base Camp and the Gateway in the lunar orbit.
The Artemis program is divided into three phases in which Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) super-heavy launch vehicle and NASA's new exploration spacecraft Orion.
Meanwhile, the Artemis II mission will be the first crewed flight under the Artemis program that will also test SLS and the Orion spacecraft around the Moon. The Artemis III will be a regular cadence of crewed Artemis missions around the Moon. Both Artemis II and Artemis III missions are still under development as Artemis I is yet to be accomplished.
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National Geographic's "Return to the Moon"
After being selected to document the historical Artemis missions, Space.com reported that National Geographic announced an ambitious series that will chronicle NASA's attempt to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon.
The show will be called "Return to the Moon," which will follow NASA astronauts, engineers, and scientists during the Artemis program that aims to send astronauts back on the lunar surface and establish a permanent lunar base. The Artemis program will also be set as a stepping stone for trips to the Red Planet.
On Wednesday, October 27, NASA announced the 18 Artemis astronauts that will undergo training for the trips to the lunar surface of which nine of them are women. The show will follow them and "document their efforts, ambitions, sacrifices, and breakthrough first steps," Space.com quoted NatGeo.
The show will follow the Artemis program from the Artemis I orbiting the Moon, to the crewed flight test of Artemis II, and finally Artemis 3's lunar landings and return to Earth. "Return to the Moon" will not only give viewers the launching of the missions but also the personal moments and interviews with the astronauts.
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Check out more news and information on Artemis Program on Science Times.
