NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft reaches maximum distance from Earth today

[Admin]

The Artemis 1 spacecraft will be farthest from Earth Monday (Nov. 28) before turning around to return home.

NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft reaches maximum distance from Earth today : Read more

 

[DrRaviSharma]

The Artemis 1 spacecraft will be farthest from Earth Monday (Nov. 28) before turning around to return home.

NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft reaches maximum distance from Earth today : Read more

I wanted to ask two Questions:

1. Are we monitoring real life support systems such as consumption of oxygen, dumping of waste water, monitoring contamination and also using backup manual inertial systems such as star trackers. This would in addition to bio-parameters of robotic astronauts would be a good test, if it is being done?
2. Why did the NASA team not use the Orion orbiting capability to go in orbit around the lunar south pole as this would have simulated Artemis 2 path towards success and proven orbit maneuvering capabilities more than a mere large orbit for radiation and other monitoring and maybe they had enough fuel to do both?

Can this be added to the mission now; of course some increase in risk for safe return and landing test on the earth?

Ravi
(Dr. Ravi Sharma, Ph.D. USA)
NASA Apollo Achievement Award
Chair, Ontology Summit 2022

 

[billslugg]

The "Distant Retrograde Orbit" requires less fuel to enter and maintain than a direct orbit.

 

[DrRaviSharma]

Thanks Billslug - but are we fuel limited on Orion?
But we will need that capability for Artemis 2 with additional 4 astronauts and their life support etc. anyway?

 

[billslugg]

With no one on board they could probably enter whatever orbit they wanted. I suppose they are simply practicing fuel conservation techniques. When they land this at the poles of the Moon, the fuel requirements will be much greater as they must change the orbital plane in order to land at the poles. More fuel means more rocks can be brought back.