Artemis 2 - the return to the moon

I read today that if you could accelerate at a constant 1g towards lunar orbit it would take about 1 3/4 hours to get half way. Then do a quick 180 and decelerate at the same rate, job done in 3 1/2 hours.

Just need to invent an entirely new means of propulsion.
 
Last edited:
I know it's a few days to arrive at the moon, but as it's about a 238,000 miles journey and the Artemis travels at 17,500 mph, doesn't that mean it should in theory arrive in under 14 hours?
Something else to consider is Artemis will be climbing out of earths mavity. In essence it'll be going up hill. At the peak where the earth and moons mavity is balanced in its forces on the ship Artemis will be travelling at something like 4000 mph (Apollo numbers and my dodgy memory) That point is also quite close to the moon as it is much smaller in mass than the earth. From there Artemis will accelerate towards the moon
 
I read today that if you could accelerate at a constant 1g towards lunar orbit it would take about 1 3/4 hours to get half way. Then do a quick 180 and decelerate at the same rate, job done in 3 1/2 hours.

Just need to invent an entirely new means of propulsion.
blackhole or wormhole. in theory. but we cant even get there never mind that.
 
I read today that if you could accelerate at a constant 1g towards lunar orbit it would take about 1 3/4 hours to get half way. Then do a quick 180 and decelerate at the same rate, job done in 3 1/2 hours.

Just need to invent an entirely new means of propulsion.
Yeah the solar system gets vary small if you can manage constant acceleration over these distances
 
Last edited:
Ah good point. :D

You are right in that it could be done much faster, so it's a valid question as to why it takes so long. One is part of the process anyway, which is that to conserve fuel they will prepare for and carry out a slingshot manoeuvre and use Earth's mavity to give them a boost and do the same around the moon coming back. The other part is that the astronauts need to sleep and rest, and NASA wants to perform a whole bunch of checks to make sure all systems onboard are working and not damaged before the astronauts leave Earth's orbit and have no way to get back if there is an issue - these checks will be carried out over the next day or two
 
Last edited:
Makes me laugh how the audience on the ground are still filming on their phones. It'll have been a dot in the sky for the last couple of minutes now.

I thought this too. Imagine being lucky enough to have the day off work on a Wednesday and to get there to see it. Only then to watch the whole thing through the screen of your phone.
 
Something else to consider is Artemis will be climbing out of earths mavity. In essence it'll be going up hill. At the peak where the earth and moons mavity is balanced in its forces on the ship Artemis will be travelling at something like 4000 mph (Apollo numbers and my dodgy memory) That point is also quite close to the moon as it is much smaller in mass than the earth. From there Artemis will accelerate towards the moon

Kerbal Space Program FTW when you want to learn just how difficult orbital mechanics is.
 
interesting comment - so need to wait for re-edit
They purposely pull the camera away from separation and at any point where they rocket could explode and kill them, even from the ground shot they let it get so far off the pad before then following the rocket up, when separation occurs they also take the camera off it incase of disaster so it doesn't end up on the feed for families to see if something goes wrong, that's my guess just looking at the launch, those moments that are critical points are missed by the camera.
 
The live stream was terrible! An incredibly impressive feat nonetheless and I’m pleased to have watched. Glad it’s gone smoothly and extremely excited for this series of moon missions!

NASA... can put man into space but can't manage to gate their audio or provide a clean feed...

I mean, I'm fine with them concentrating on making the mission a success rather than great TV, but y'all do you ;):p
 
The fancier camera work on SpaceX launches might be more possible since they don't worry about a loose camera causing harm to onboard humans.
 
The fancier camera work on SpaceX launches might be more possible since they don't worry about a loose camera causing harm to onboard humans.

It isn't even about being fancy - some of the production / implementation is quite amateur and other aspects are like they are stuck in the 70s.
 
Back
Top Bottom