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Utah powering NASA's SLS rocket and Artemis program
A group of guests from NASA teams working on the Artemis program visited the Clark Planetarium Tuesday to talk about what's next in space exploration, and Utah's role in it.
Like many, Kjell Lindgren, a NASA astronaut who has logged 311 days in space, was inspired by the images of the Apollo astronauts. It's now been five decades since humans stepped on the moon.
'Our generation has recaptured that torch to carry exploration back to the lunar surface,' Lindgren said.
Lindgren is referring to NASA's upcoming missions — Artemis II and Artemis III, which would include orbiting around the moon and landing on the moon, respectively.
Artemis II is scheduled to launch in April 2026 and is succeeding uncrewed Artemis I in 2022. Artemis II will be the first mission with crew aboard the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket and Orion spacecraft.
The Artemis missions are under NASA's ambitious long-term exploration plan called Moon to Mars Architecture. The goal is to send humans deeper into space than ever before.
Lindgren called Utah a 'partner in exploration for decades.' With more than 3,000 Artemis suppliers nationwide, Utah has become the factory for the very propulsion systems that the SLS rocket uses.
Mark Pond, a Utah native and the senior director of NASA Programs at Northrop Grumman, said the Promontory Rocket Complex has been building boosters for the space shuttle program since the late '70s.
Currently, they are responsible for the two white solid rocket boosters on the sides of the main stack of the SLS.
'We are a big part of the first two minutes,' Pond said. 'To be able to get the vehicle going, the velocities that it needs to go.'
These boosters that are built and tested in Utah provide about 75% of the thrust needed to get the rocket off the ground, Pond said. They exert 3.6 millions pounds of thrust.
Like Lindgren, Pond was captivated by the Apollo mission, particularly when Gene Cernan left the last human footprints on the moon.
'I feel completely cheated that I didn't get to be a part of that endeavor,' Pond said. He's now been working in propulsion systems for over 25 years.
NASA is working thoroughly with its partners to ensure that spacecraft is safe and ready for launch day.
'We're gonna knock it outta the park,' Pond said.
The guests described, almost in unison, the insatiable spirit of human exploration as the basis of this return mission.
'It's about going back to stay,' Stephen Creech, the assistant deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program, said.
Lindgren explained NASA wants to land on the south pole of the moon, where water in the form of ice can be found.
'There's tremendous opportunity for exploration,' Lindgren said, 'to understand what resources might be available to not only sustain, but to support future exploration.'
Dave Reynolds, another Utah native and program manager for the SLS Booster Office at NASA, echoed Lindgren's view of the moon as a starting point for further exploration.
" It is the the best place that we're gonna be able to learn how to work and live on another planet and still be able to phone home," Reynolds said.
The International Space Station is in orbit about 250 miles above the Earth. It takes about nine minutes to go from the surface of the Earth into the Earth's orbit, and anywhere between six hours and three days to reach the space station. The exact duration depends on the spacecraft, launch procedures, and the space station's position in orbit.
In comparison, getting to the moon on a direct route takes about three days there, and three days back. Going to Mars, as it turns out, is a bit more challenging.
'You don't go to Mars, you go to where Mars is going to be,' Reynolds said. 'It's such a high-precision dance that we have to do when we're trying to meet with another celestial object.'
Put simply, it would take about nine months to get there, plus a waiting period to ensure the Earth is in the right location before the trip back.
Lindgren talked about the hardships of space travel in the human body, which include muscle and bone loss and cardiovascular changes, as well as some degree of radiation.
While astronauts in the International Space Station are still exposed to radiation, they are protected by the Earth's magnetosphere. Astronauts traveling to Mars will lose that protection. That's something that researchers, scientists and doctors are trying to figure out, Lindgren said.
Even though there are some unknowns NASA is still working on, there's optimism around the upcoming missions.
'There's (an) opportunity to learn the lessons from what we've done over the past decades,' Lindgren said. 'There's an opportunity to do it more efficiently, to go into it with a better understanding of the architecture that we want in order to make it sustainable.'
The whole world is watching and Pond said NASA is working hard to ensure the astronauts are safe and able to return home.
Pond said the program, which includes a Canadian astronaut on the Artemis crew, has inspired scientific progress and international collaboration.
" We have so many people that are pushing for us. They want to see us succeed," Pond said.
As NASA is getting ready for the launch of Artemis II, preparation for Artemis III is already underway. Northrop Grumman will be testing a new booster rocket that will be used in Artemis III on Thursday at 11 a.m. at its site near Promontory Point.
For those interested, there will be a public viewing area along Highway 83.
'(The new booster) addresses several different obsolescence issues that we have with the current boosters,' Pond said.
The new booster will exert nearly 4 million pounds of thrust — 0.4 million pounds more than the current booster — and will create a 'cool light show' in Utah skies as well as a lot of smoke and fire.
