ART and science merge to spectacular effect in these photos, recently released by NASA. The images amp up anticipation for the upcoming Artemis II mission, which will be NASA’s first crewed space flight beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s.
Last month, NASA workers began the hefty task of painting NASA logos on two solid rocket boosters that will provide vital thrust for the Artemis II mission. Each iconic NASA “worm” is more than 2 metres high and 7 metres from end to end. The image above shows the crew working on the logo at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The logo had been retired, but was brought back in 2020 for select merchandise.
Artemis II, scheduled for 2025, will involve a four-person crew travelling beyond low Earth orbit (2000 kilometres from the surface or above) and passing around the moon. It will test whether life-support systems are up to the job of more distant space travel.
“Under Artemis, we are going to the moon for scientific discovery and exploration and with our long-term goals in mind. We’ll develop the technologies and skills we need to prepare for a future human Mars mission,” says Matt Ramsey, mission manager for Artemis II.
The image above, also at Kennedy Space Center, shows the latest makeover of the Orion crew capsule of Artemis II – complete with newly added logos. Both Orion and the boosters are pivotal elements for deep space exploration and, crucially, for Artemis’s long-term ambitions for a lunar space station.
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