Inside the spacecraft that will take humans back to the Moon

NASA has unveiled the final design of the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the Moon for the first time in half a century.

Protective panels on the rear hull of the Orion spacecraft. Photo: NASA

NASA shared new images of the Orion spacecraft that will orbit the Moon on the Artemis 2 mission, which is scheduled to launch as early as September 2025 with four astronauts in the cabin, Space reported on January 18. The interior of the Orion crew cabin was completed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Workers also installed protective panels on the back of the capsule and insulation on the exterior.

The interior of the Orion spacecraft being installed at Kennedy Space Center. Photo: NASA

The four astronauts participating in the Artemis 2 mission are commander Reid Wiseman, astronaut Victor Glover (Glover will become the first black person to leave low Earth orbit), mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman to fly beyond LEO) of NASA and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Windows surrounding the cockpit of the Orion spacecraft. Photo: NASA

The foursome will become the first astronauts to use the Orion spacecraft. Orion has flown in space twice before, on unmanned missions, and therefore without life support equipment: the Artemis 1 mission to the moon in late 2022 and a short flight to Earth orbit in 2014.

Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program, paving the way for the goal of landing humans on the Moon in the Artemis 3 mission. Both Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 were delayed in January 2024 due to technical issues. While Artemis 2 was pushed back nine months to September 2025, Artemis 3 is scheduled to take place a year later, in 2026. The Artemis program aims to build a settlement near the south pole of the Moon to take advantage of the water resources there.

An Khang (According to Space )

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