Artemis II Orion crew, service modules joined together as NASA's moon mission set to launch next year

In a step forward for the Artemis II mission, the Orion crew and service modules that are to be used were joined on October 19 at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space agency said.

NASA's Artemis II program is the first crewed mission that will take astronauts around the moon. It is planned to be launched in November 2024. The 10-day flight will test NASA's "foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft" with astronauts. The uncrewed Artemis I became a huge success for NASA in 2022.

The joining of the crew and service modules came after NASA engineers successfully completed the hardware installations and testing over the past several months.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read |SpaceX seals deal with ESA for launch of satellites: Report

Under the ambitious mission, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will venture around the Moon and come back to Earth.

With the crew and service modules integrated, NASA said that the team of engineers will now power up the combined crew and service module for the first time.

Also Read |Collision between rare stars in Milky Way to end life on Earth, says study

"After power on test is complete, Orion will begin altitude chamber testing, which will put the spacecraft through conditions as close as possible to the environment it will experience in the vacuum of deep space," the space agency said.

NASA’s Artemis II Moon rocket core stage

Earlier, all four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for NASA’s Artemis II Moon rocket were joined at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

The first engine to NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage was added on September 11, the second engine on September 15 and the third and fourth engines on September 19 and September 20, respectively.

Watch |China's top diplomat, Wang Yi is US this week

"The SLS core stage, at 212 feet, is the backbone of the Moon rocket. Its two huge propellant tanks provide more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to the four RS-25 engines, while the stage’s flight computers, avionics, and electrical systems act as the “brains” of the rocket. During Artemis II, the RS-25 engines will together provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust for eight minutes of flight, helping to send the Artemis II crew beyond low-Earth orbit to venture around the Moon," NASA said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.