Moon Base Space Race

Okay, so we now have a new target launch date for the maiden launch of the SLS rocket and the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. The launch was supposed to go off in November-December timeframe, but it has been rescheduled for February 12, 2022. Whether or not that happens will depend on what is called a “wet dress rehearsal,” which is a fueling test in which the ground team will pump cryogenic fuel into the SLS’s first and second stages. It will be the final check out of both the rocket and ground systems.

The Artemis 1 mission will determine how well the Orion capsule atop the SLS performs during its nearly one-month flight to and from the Moon… Well, lunar orbit anyways. The aim of the mission is to qualify SLS and Orion in preparation for a second unmanned test flight (Artemis 2) in 2023 to lunar orbit. If all goes according to plan, the Artemis 3 mission would carry a crew that would attempt to land on the Moon sometime in 2024.

The idea is to continue making manned trips to the Moon and eventually establish a base on the lunar surface tentatively called the “Artemis Base Camp.” I know, I know… sounds very exciting. Keep in mind, though, that all of this is dependent on either a lot more money for NASA, which currently has an annual budget of about $25 billion, or a scaling down of some of the agency’s other priorities. It’s a lot to take on in one decade.

It will be interesting to see if NASA can afford a robust Moon settlement program at the same time it is maintaining a manned presence on the International Space Station (at least through 2028) and credibly talking about proceeding with plans to go to Mars… in some sort of a partnership with SpaceX, of course.

As often as I’ve said that US aspirations on the Moon have felt a bit flimsy and with more of a political nature to them, now that Russia and China have begun talking about jointly working on a Moon base and inviting other countries to join them, it may just force NASA’s hand to make good on this vision by former president Trump. Has the feel of another space race, doesn’t it?