NASA plans to launch astronauts back to the moon in the upcoming year. This is their ride for the twenty-first century.

The Orion spacecraft, which will accommodate four passengers, was built with assistance from the European Space Agency, which recently shared a picture of the towering vessel before it was moved to a test room to be exposed to harsh, space-like conditions.

“At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, the Orion vehicle that will be used for Artemis II is getting ready for this first mission to bring humans around the Moon and back in over 50 years,” said the European Space Agency.

Astronauts will launch into space using NASA’s massive Space Launch System rocket, or SLS, which is more potent than the Saturn V rocket that launched humans to the moon in the upcoming Artemis II mission. They won’t set foot on the moon; instead, they will circle it and then burn up their engines to return to Earth and descend through the atmosphere at a temperature of 5,000 degrees. Should the mission be successful, it will open the path for Artemis III to land on the dusty lunar surface in September 2026. For almost a week, they will be here.

Below is an Orion vessel made up of four pieces that are placed together:

• Crew module: The crew module is the area where astronauts will reside throughout their space mission.
• Crew module adapter: This section joins the crew module to the European Service Module, which is a vital component below.
• Module of Services: This is known by ESA as the “powerhouse of Orion.” It supplies water, air, energy, propulsion, and thermal control, according to the agency.
• Spacecraft adaptor: This conical section at the bottom joins Orion to the potent SLS rocket.

NASA rescheduled the launch of Artemis II from later in 2024 to September 2025 in order to resolve a few issues. The organization puts safety over expediency since there is life aboard, and they are all too aware of how a flight disaster may become tragic.

In an agency statement earlier this year, NASA’s deputy associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development, Amit Kshatriya, stated, “Crew safety is and will remain our number one priority.”

The unanticipated damage to Orion’s heat shield that transpired during the unmanned Artemis I flight is very concerning. During the high heat and friction during the shield’s fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere, a few small parts broke off instead of the shield eroding normally. “Teams have taken a methodical approach to understand the issue, including extensive sampling of the heat shield, testing, and review of data from sensors and imagery,” NASA said.

NASA’s goals now diverge significantly from those of the famed Apollo missions more than half a century ago as the impending Artemis missions onboard Orion begin to take off. This time, NASA plans to build a long-term base on the moon and its environs. Additionally, astronauts will travel to the lunar south pole for the first time, a region that scientists believe to be rich in water ice, a vital resource for any moon colony that needs water and fuel.