NASA Introduces Specially Designed Electric Crew Transport Vehicles for Artemis Mission to the Moon

Thea Arbar, CNBC Indonesia

Tech

Sunday, 16/07/2023 21:40 WIB

Pictured: Set in the Vehicle Assembly Building, three specially designed, fully electric, eco-friendly crew transport vehicles for the Artemis mission arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 11, 2023. (Doc. NASA/Isaac Watson/NASA/Isaac Watson )

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The United States (US) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently had a new specially designed crew transport.

The team from manufacturer Canoo Technologies Inc. from Torrance, California, delivered three eco-friendly electric transportation vehicles to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on Tuesday, July 11.

The zero-emission vehicle can carry four astronauts in their spacesuits, crew survival systems, support personnel including spacesuit technicians, and provide space for special equipment for travel to Launch Pad 39B prior to the Artemis mission to the Moon.

“The collaboration between Canoo and our NASA representatives focused on the safety and comfort of the crew on their way to the runway prior to their journey to the Moon,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA’s Artemis launch director. CNBC Indonesia.

“I’m sure everyone who sees the new vehicle will feel the same pride I have for the next attempt at the manned Artemis mission.”

NASA will also use the new fleet for astronaut training exercises ahead of next year’s planned Artemis II mission or some sort of test that will see astronauts go around the Moon and back.

This will be the first manned mission from low Earth orbit since 1972. If all goes well, Artemis III will follow with a 2025 launch, which aims to land a crew on the lunar surface.

Historically, during launch operations at Kennedy for NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs, Astrovans were previously the primary means of transporting the crew from the astronaut crew quarters in Operations Neil A. Armstrong and the Checkout Building to the launch pad. While the path to the runway may look similar, the journey to get there has changed over time.

Ahead of Artemis II, the first manned mission under Artemis that will send four astronauts around the Moon and bring them home, the fleet will be used for astronaut training exercises in the spaceport.

The approximately 10-day flight will test NASA’s basic human space exploration capabilities, the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. It will also be the first time with astronauts and will pave the way for lunar surface missions, including the landing of the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Watch the video below: