NASA/Artemis Lunar Exploration
This page will contain information about NASA programs and the Artemis Lunar Exploration program.
The article below was a response to an article in Physics Today magazine. It will be published in Physics Today in the spring of 2024.
The launch of Artemis II has been postponed until late 2025 or early 2026. The rescheduling seems to be due to crew safety issues, mostly due to heat shield erosion on the Artemis I flight. It is interesting that the U.S, had the technology to launch moon landing flights in the late 60s and early 70s but is challenged by doing now.
The article, "Back to the Moon … to stay?" in the December 2023 issue of Physics Today presents a great deal of information of which many people outside of the science and technology communities should be aware. Early in the article, Michael J. Neufeld addresses the question presented in the title, identifying the cause for the end of the Apollo program to it being "politically unsustainable." He indicates that he believes the Artemis Program is sustainable and provides evidence supporting his belief.
He writes of two primary challenges to sending humans to our moon to explore and do science, the challenge presented by robotic missions, and the radiation environment which astronauts will encounter on extended missions. A favorite quote regarding robotic space exploration is from Steve Squires, principal Investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. In a video describing the work done by one of the rovers over a period of weeks, Squires indicates that an astronaut trained as a geologist could accomplish the same tasks over a weekend.[i] Robotic space exploration will continue to improve, but it is likely that humans will be vastly more efficient than robots for many years.
The harsh radiation environment astronauts will encounter will have to be dealt with, along with the reduced gravity/free-fall environment in which astronauts will live and work. Working on solving those challenges is what science and engineering is about. It would be difficult to put a value on the knowledge gained from doing that work.
Neufeld then addresses the financial challenges faced by managers of the Apollo program. I am a strong supporter of the U.S. military. Included in his article is a histogram of the NASA budget from 1960 through 2020 as a percentage of the federal budget. Compare this with the histogram of National Defense Consumption Expenditures from 1950 through 2020. Roughly every ten days the U.S. spends the equivalent of the NASA budget for a year on national defense.
The article includes information about the space exploration done by NASA in the last sixty-five years, including information about the current status of the Artemis program. Neufeld writes, "Public enthusiasm for sending astronauts to the moon remains weak- only 12% of respondents in a recent poll, asking about support for exploration of our moon by astronauts, chose it as one of the top priorities for NASA." In my experience in doing public outreach regarding space exploration, I have found very few people who can answer correctly when asked about the distance from earth to our moon. That type of question should be included on any poll about support for lunar exploration. There are very few people in the general public who know that twelve people spent time on the moon between 1969 and 1972.
Neufeld is a strong supporter of lunar exploration. He concludes by writing, "We are going back to the moon to stay, at least for a while- and maybe for the long term." I look forward to looking up at our moon and knowing the names of the people who are living and working there.
[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1m9p2uomE8
Post script The 23rd NASA Astronaut class was introduced on March 7, 2024. One of the speakers at the event was Harrison (Jack) Schmidt, who spent three days on the moon in 1972. Included in his remarks was information indicating that a great deal will be learned from the experience of astronauts living and working on the moon for extended periods (minimum of 10 days to two weeks?). Extensive studies may be made regarding astronaut's adaptability to the one sixth g environment of the moon. To overcome the challenge of a long flight to Mars in a free-fall environment, NASA may be able to develop a spacecraft for the Mars mission that spins, creating something near a one-sixth g environment. That could enable astronauts on those missions to get out and walk when they arrive on Mars!