The next astronauts to fly to the moon are guaranteed to have breathtaking views as they approach the lunar surface in the crew module, NASA said this week.
Kathy Lueders of the Space Agency tweeted a photo (below) of a new windowpane for the front of the Orion spacecraft, which is supposed to transport astronauts to the moon for the first moon landing since 1972 in four years.
Lueder's photo shows a cone plate with openings for large windows that allow a breathtaking view. The spaceship was commissioned by Orion's prime contractor Lockheed Martin with AMRO Fabricating Corp. panels manufactured in South El Monte, California. The finished panel is now on its way to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana, where engineers weld it to other panels as part of Orion's pressure vessel.
"It is really exciting to have AMRO complete the first piece of the Artemis III Orion spacecraft that will enable American astronauts to establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface," said Howard Hu, acting Orion program manager.
#Artemis III Astronauts get a fantastic view of the approaching moon thanks to a newly completed window pane for the moon @NASA_Orion Crew module. Check out the manufacturing process and learn more about Orion's progress: https://t.co/DPnm5jdZvq pic.twitter.com/4iDxCm5zw8
& mdash; Kathy lueders (@kathylueders) 19th August 2020
Currently scheduled for October 2024, the Artemis III mission will be NASA's third flight of the Orion crew capsule after two test missions. The first, Artemis I, will perform an unscrewed flyby of the moon in 2021. Artemis II, slated for 2023, will mark the first crew test and Orion will pass the moon without landing.
NASA hired new astronauts for additional Artemis missions in the 2020s and is currently conducting various training programs to perfect the various scientific techniques that astronauts can use to effectively explore the lunar surface.
NASA says that human exploration of the moon through the Artemis program "provides a unique opportunity to test, refine and perfect many of the technologies and complex operations required to land humans on Mars, doing their work on the surface and being safe bring them back to earth. "
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