Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield, in preparation for subsequent Artemis missions. These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies, including exploration of Mars.
The Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1 was stacked on October 20, 2021, and on August 17, 2022, the fully stacked vehicle was rolled out for launch after a series of delays caused by difficulties in pre-flight testing. The first two launch attempts were canceled due to a faulty engine temperature reading on August 29, 2022, and a hydrogen leak during fueling on September 3, 2022. Artemis 1 was launched on November 16, 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC (01:47:44 EST).
Artemis 1 launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. After reaching Earth orbit, the upper stage carrying the Orion spacecraft separated and performed a trans-lunar injection before releasing Orion and deploying ten CubeSat satellites. Orion completed one flyby of the Moon on November 21, entered a distant retrograde orbit for six days, and completed a second flyby of the Moon on December 5.
The Orion spacecraft then returned and reentered the Earth's atmosphere with the protection of its heat shield, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11. The mission aims to certify Orion and the Space Launch System for crewed flights beginning with Artemis 2, which is scheduled to perform a crewed lunar flyby in 2024. After Artemis 2, Artemis 3 will involve a crewed lunar landing, the first in five decades since Apollo 17.
Mission profile
Artemis 1 was launched on the Block 1 variant of the Space Launch System. The Block 1 vehicle consists of a core stage, two five-segment solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and an upper stage. The core stage uses four RS-25D engines, all of which have previously flown on Space Shuttle missions. The core and boosters together produce , or about 4,000 metric tons of thrust at liftoff. The upper stage, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), is based on the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage and is powered by a single RL10B-2 engine on the Artemis 1 mission.
Once in orbit, the ICPS fired its engine to perform a trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn, which placed the Orion spacecraft and 10 CubeSats on a trajectory to the Moon. Orion then separated from the ICPS and continued its coast into lunar space. Following Orion separation, the ICPS Stage Adapter deployed ten CubeSats for conducting scientific research and performing technology demonstrations.
The Orion spacecraft spent approximately three weeks in space, including six days in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) around the Moon. It came within approximately of the lunar surface (closest approach) and achieved a maximum distance from Earth of .
Mission profile animation
Background
Artemis 1 was outlined by NASA as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) in 2012, at which point it was set to launch in 2017 as the first planned flight of the Space Launch System and the second uncrewed test flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The initial plans for EM-1 called for a circumlunar trajectory during a seven-day mission.
In January 2013, it was announced that the Orion spacecraft's service module was to be built by the European Space Agency and named the European Service Module. In mid-November 2014, construction of the SLS core stage began at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF). In January 2015, NASA and Lockheed Martin announced that the primary structure in the Orion spacecraft used on Artemis 1 would be up to 25% lighter compared to the previous one (EFT-1). This would be achieved by reducing the number of cone panels from six (EFT-1) to three (EM-1), reducing the total number of welds from 19 to 7 and saving the additional mass of the weld material. Other savings would be due to revising its various components and wiring. For Artemis 1, the Orion spacecraft was to be outfitted with a complete life support system and crew seats but would be left uncrewed.