Artemis I: Orion's uncrewed flight around the Moon – Infographic

2022-04-07 - The NASA-led Artemis program is a new generation of lunar exploration missions designed to send humans farther into space than ever before. The Artemis missions are complex endeavours that will lay the foundation for sustainable human and robotic exploration of Earth's only natural satellite, the Moon.

Set to launch in 2022, the Artemis I mission is an uncrewed test flight of the Orion capsule. It will also be the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and first liftoff using updated Exploration Ground Systems facilities. During Artemis I, Orion will perform lunar fly-bys and ultimately travel a total distance of over 2 million kilometres before its return to Earth. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)

The infographic includes a representation of Earth, the Moon, and the Orion spacecraft. A curvy line marks the expected flight path of the mission. Ten arrows along the flight path indicate Orion's direction. The arrows are numbered to correspond to the following steps.

Outbound transit (5 to 7 days)

• Step 1: Launch from Kennedy Space Center on the Space Launch System.
• Step 2: Translunar injection sets Orion on course to the Moon. This step will involve one or more engine burns.
• Step 3: Outbound flight. This step will involve one or more engine burns.
• Step 4: Lunar fly-by greater than 100 km above surface. This step will involve one or more engine burns.

Distant retrograde orbit (6 to 16 days)

• Step 5: Orbit insertion. This step involves one or more engine burns.
• Step 6: Half or one-and-a-half orbits about 70,000 km above the lunar surface.
• Step 7: Orbit departure. This step involves one or more engine burns.

Return transit (6 to 19 days)

• Step 8: Lunar fly-by greater than 100 km above surface. This step involves one or more engine burns.
• Step 9: Inbound flight. This step involves one or more engine burns.
• Step 10: Re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

On the infographic, it says that the mission duration will be 26 to 42 days, and that the distance travelled will be over 2 million kilometres.