"The moment space fans have waited more than 50 years for is almost upon us, as NASA prepares to launch its Artemis II mission to the moon. But as the space agency counts down to the historic launch, experts have revealed everything that might go wrong. From a devastating fire on the launch pad to the sudden loss of power mid-flight, the astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - must be prepared for every eventuality."
"While NASA has previously demonstrated that the mission is possible with the uncrewed Artemis I flight, adding a human crew brings entirely new risks. To keep the crew safe, Artemis II has been designed to include advanced systems for evacuation and escape at any point in the mission. At the heart of this strategy is the Launch Abort System (LAS), a 13.4-metre-tall (44 feet) tower strapped to the top of the Orion spacecraft that can pull the crew to safety in milliseconds."
"When that launch day comes, the Artemis II crew will climb aboard their Orion spacecraft, strapped to NASA's most powerful rocket. The Space Launch System is a 98-metre (322-foot) behemoth, filled with over two million litres of supercooled liquid hydrogen, chilled to -252°C (-423°F). Ahead of launch, NASA will conduct one or more 'wet dress rehearsals', during which it will practice safely fuelling and emptying the massive rocket."
Artemis II will send four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—on a crewed lunar mission aboard Orion atop the Space Launch System. Three launch windows have been identified in February, March, and April. The SLS contains over two million litres of supercooled liquid hydrogen at -252°C and will undergo wet dress rehearsals to practice fuelling and draining. Anticipated worst-case scenarios include launch pad fires, propellant leaks, sudden power loss in flight, medical emergencies, aborts, and re-entry failures. A 13.4-metre Launch Abort System and multiple evacuation systems are integrated to protect the crew.
Read at Mail Online
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