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NASA completed the construction and equipment of the Orion crew capsule for the first Artemis lunar mission in June 2019. The spacecraft is being prepared for its first flight. unarmed test over NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. (Source of the image: NASA)NASA has awarded $ 2.7 billion to Lockheed Martin, a US-based aerospace and defense company, for the preparation of three Orion capsules for its Artemis III-V missions. These missions will bring the first woman of NASA and the next man on the Moon by 2024.
The US space agency plans to order three more Orion capsules during fiscal year 2022 for Artemis VI-VIII missions, for a total of $ 1.9 billion, NASA said in a press release.
"This contract guarantees Orion's production over the next decade, demonstrating NASA's commitment to establishing a sustainable presence on the moon to bring new knowledge and prepare for shipment." astronauts on Mars, "said in a statement the director of NASA, Brendstine.
NASA says that the Orion capsule will bring astronauts to the moon and back, she will also be able to travel to other missions such as Mars and more.
"Orion is an ultramodern and extremely capable spacecraft, designed specifically for deep space missions with astronauts and an integral part of NASA's infrastructure for Artemis missions and future exploration." of the solar system, "Bridenstine added.
I am proud to announce a milestone for our #Artemis program to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024. Today we awarded a contract to @Lockheed Martin for a @NASA_Orion Spacecraft production line that will support up to 12 missions. More: https://t.co/zUhe7CLgvk pic.twitter.com/etBmkx3dp4
– Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) September 23, 2019
The US Space Agency believes that ordering capsules in groups of three will allow it to benefit from efficiencies that will become available in the supply chain over time. This should help NASA save money on production costs.
The Orion service module, which provides Orion's power and propulsion during the mission, was provided by ESA (European Space Agency), NASA said in a previous statement.
Orion capsules are also designed to be reusable. NASA's long-term plan is to reuse the recovered crew modules at least once. The Artemis mission is the next step of the US Space Agency in the field of human space exploration. It is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration program.
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Earlier this month, NASA began using a Huge water tank at his neutral buoyancy lab prepare astronauts for the challenges they face when traveling in space. This, apart from preparing for the Artemis 2024 mission, NASA has also recently $ 13.7 million contract for Advanced Space, a US engineering services company, for the development and operation of a CubeSat lunar lunar mission that will be launched in December 2020.
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