Artemis, according to ancient Greek mythology, was the twin sister of Apollo, the sun god. This is where the relationship between the American programs “Artemis” and “Apollo” ends. A new lunar mission requires new technologies, new discoveries and new money, a lot of money.
As part of the Artemis program, NASA intends to use a multistage system for flights to the moon and return to Earth. First, the astronauts will get to the lunar orbit, in which the orbital station will be located. They will then transfer to another spacecraft designed to descend to the lunar surface. To return to the base station, a third ship will be used, which will return the astronauts to the orbit of the Earth’s satellite. From there, the conquerors of the Moon will begin their journey back to Earth. All systems used are reusable.
Obviously, with an increase in the number of links, the system becomes more complicated, and the risk of breakdowns and unforeseen situations multiplies. For this reason, Boeing Aerospace Corporation is offering NASA its option for flights to the moon, which simplifies the flight procedure. As in the Apollo program, the spacecraft reaches the Moon, after which the descent module is separated, which also serves to deliver astronauts from the lunar surface to orbit.
The main difference in The Boeing Company’s plan is that there is no need for an orbital station. However, the corporation assumes the possibility of docking with it if necessary. The project uses technologies for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
Boeing’s offer is not the only one. After collecting applications, NASA will select two proposals from manufacturers who will work on the creation of spacecraft for flights to the moon in 2024-25.