Ahead of NASA’s long-awaited Return to manned moon landing, the space agency is testing an elevator that will transport astronauts from the spacecraft to the lunar surface. If all goes according to plan, the elevator will be ready for the ambitious Artemis 3 and 4 missions set for 2025 and 2028.
Two NASA astronauts took part in a recent experiment demonstration Subscale mockup elevator SpaceX’s Starship manned landing system. The system, designed and built by SpaceX as a variation of its Starship mega-rocket, will transport the Artemis crew from the Orion spacecraft to the moon’s surface. The elevator would take the astronaut and his equipment down from the starship’s living area.
During a recent test, NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Doug “Wheels” Wheelock wore spacesuits that simulated the suit’s size and movement limitations on the moon, leaving Space in Hawthorne, Calif. I took the elevator for a spin at the X facility. The mockup elevator has a full-size basket section with functioning mechanical assemblies and a crew interface for testing.
The astronauts operated a design similar to the flight of an elevator system. It served as a demonstration of the hardware and allowed NASA and SpaceX to gather important data about its usability from a crew perspective.
“Suited crew members will be responsible for elevator controls such as gate latches, ramp deployment interfaces for entering and exiting the elevator basket, available space for cargo, and dynamic operation while the basket moves along the vertical rail system. “We provided feedback regarding this issue,” NASA wrote.
But before taking humans to the moon, Starship must first conduct an unmanned mission to the lunar surface.SpaceX’s giant spaceship has been completed Second test flight in Novemberbut it is still far from operational. NASA is concerned about meeting Artemis deadlines. The space agency hopes to launch the Artemis 3 mission in 2025, which will land humans on the moon for the first time in decades. “They have quite a few launches left and are understandably concerned about December 2025.” [Artemis 3 launch] Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator for exploration systems development, said in June.
Meanwhile, NASA is preparing for launch. Artemis 2 mission in November 2024sending the manned Orion spacecraft on a round trip around the moon.
Want to learn more about humanity’s next big leap into space? Check out the full content NASA’s Artemis Moon Projectnew Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, Recently completed Artemis 1 mission Around the moon, 4-seater Artemis 2 crew, NASA and Axiom’s Artemis Moonsuitand future Lunar Gateway Space Station.If you want more spaceflight in your life, follow us X (Old Twitter) Bookmark exclusively for Gizmodo space flight page.
