Artemis mission. NASA will use devices developed by Poles

Artemis is the name of the American spaceflight program implemented by NASA, private companies, as well as international partners, including European Space Agency (ESA). The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will carry the Orion capsule with dummies on a trip around the moon as part of the Artemis I mission, launched on Wednesday morning Polish time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launched flight is the first in a series that is to lead to the return of astronauts to , and then the establishment of a permanent base there.

Artemis mission. The Polish company contributed to the return to the moon

One of the core elements of the Artemis program is the Orion capsule, designed to transport the crew. On board were infrared detectors manufactured by the Polish company VIGO Photonics. They are part of the Laser Air Monitor System (LAMS).

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“We are thrilled and honored to be able to support such a great project that will help shape the future of exploration. The aim of the Artemis mission is to send a man to the Moon again, and then to it, said Dr. Adam Piotrowski, President of the Management Board of VIGO Photonics.

Our infrared detectors will be part of its equipment and will be used to measure carbon dioxide, water and oxygen inside the crew cabin and spacesuits – so these are very important systems supporting the vital functions of astronauts in future manned missions. We are proud to be part of the Artemis mission

Piotrowski added.

VIGO Photonics is a global manufacturer of photonic mid-infrared detectors, detection modules and semiconductor materials. The company’s detectors were housed in the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) aboard the Curiosity rover, and were used in ESA’s ExoMars program with the Schiaparelli lander.

Possible return to the moon thanks to the Polish Academy of Sciences

During the research in the Artemis I mission, a set of ionizing radiation detectors developed at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków will also be used. The results of the measurements will make it possible to determine the doses and nature of radiation to which astronauts will be exposed during the flight to the Moon, the Institute said in a release.

During the Polish test flight, which began on Wednesday morning, tests will be carried out to determine astronauts’ exposure to cosmic radiation. In places normally intended for the crew, two realistic models of the human body, the so-called phantoms (named Helga and Zohar), equipped with a large number of different ionizing radiation detectors. In addition to them, the third dummy named Campos will take the place of the “commander”.

The MARE experiment, coordinated by the German Space Research Center DLR, involves a number of scientific institutions from around the world, including a team of scientists from the Radiation Physics and Dosimetry Department of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The team from the IFJ PAN provided a set of self-developed thermoluminescent dosimeters and innovative detectors of traces of nuclear particles. After the Orion capsule returns to Earth, these dosimeters will be analyzed in the IFJ PAN laboratories. The obtained measurement results, combined with the results of other research teams, will make it possible to determine the doses and nature of radiation to which astronauts will be exposed during the flight to the Moon

– informs IFJ PAN.

The MARE experiment is the first such measurement conducted outside low Earth orbit.

The next Artemis II mission will be manned. Four astronauts will fly around the Moon at an altitude of 8,900 km above the surface. If all goes well, it should happen in 2024. Then, in 2025, as part of the Artemis III mission, it is planned to land on the surface near the south pole of the Moon.

Source: mat/ekr/agt/