NASA astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Jonny Kim and Randy Bresnik take a look at the simulator of the Orion spacecraft that recently arrived at the Johnson Space Center of the Houston agency. Credit: NASA
GODMOTHER Astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Jonny Kim and Randy Bresnik take a look at the Orion spacecraft simulator that recently arrived at the Johnson Space Center of the Houston agency. The simulator offers astronauts, engineers and flight controllers the opportunity to train and practice scenarios during Artemis missions to the Moon. The interior of the simulator is equipped with Orion’s display and control system and crew seats to mimic what the astronaut will experience during takeoff to the lunar neighborhood and on the way back home to Earth.
Kim and Wilson are among the 18 astronauts recently named to the team of Artemis astronauts eligible to be selected for Artemis missions to the Moon. Bresnik is currently the assistant chief of the astronaut exploration office. NASA is aiming for 2023 for Artemis II, the first manned mission, with the Orion spacecraft launched on the Space Launch System rocket. The mission will send astronauts around the moon and return them to Earth, a flight that will set the stage for the first woman and next man to step on the moon in 2024.
During Artemis I, Orion will venture thousands of miles beyond the moon during a mission of about three weeks. Credit: NASA
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is being built to take people further than they have been before. Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will transport the crew into space, provide emergency abortion capability, support the crew during the space trip, and provide a safe entrance from the speed of return from deep space. Orion will launch NASA’s new high-capacity rocket, the Space Launch System.