Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut leading the four Artemis 2 crew members, told Space.com in a Dec. 18 exclusive that SpaceX wants to talk to his crew about Starship. That’s no coincidence, given that SpaceX is developing Starship for Artemis 3, which intends to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972.

According to a December 18, 2023 exclusive from Space.com, SpaceX has invited the commander of the Artemis 2 moon crew to visit and discuss Starship. 

Artemis 2 is the second mission of NASA’s Artemis program and the first crewed mission of its Orion spacecraft. The mission is currently scheduled for launch in November 2024 and will send four astronauts around the moon. 

The Artemis 2 crew includes: 

• Reid Wiseman NASA commander 
• Victor Glover NASA pilot, the first person of color to leave low Earth orbit 
• Christina Koch NASA mission specialist, the first woman 
• Jeremy Hansen Canadian Space Agency mission specialist, the first non-American 

As part of the Artemis 2 mission, two astronauts will transfer to SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System to descend to the lunar surface. After moonwalks, the astronauts will return to the Gateway aboard the Starship and then travel back to Earth aboard the Orion.

According to Space.com, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman told them on December 18, 2023 that SpaceX wants to speak with his crew about Starship. 

Wiseman is the commander of the Artemis II mission, which will be the first human mission to the moon in 50 years. The Artemis II crew includes: 

• Reid Wiseman: Commander 
• Victor Glover: Pilot 
• Christina Koch: Mission specialist 
• Jeremy Hansen: Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut and mission specialist. Hansen will be the first non-American to leave Earth’s orbit and fly to the moon. 

Wiseman is a Chief NASA Astronaut at the Johnson Space Center, where he oversees all human spaceflight missions and technical risks. In 2014, he spent 165 days on the International Space Station, where he completed two spacewalks.

NASA’s Artemis missions aim to land the first woman and person of color on the moon, explore the lunar surface, and lay the groundwork for sending astronauts to Mars

NASA’s Artemis 1 uncrewed moon mission launched on November 16, 2022. The next moon rocket ride for astronauts is being tested for a new mission that could launch in late 2024. 

In 2023, NASA also launched the Psyche spacecraft, an orbiter mission that will study the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche to explore the origin of planetary cores. NASA’s Lucy probe also performed a flyby of asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh on November 1, 2023, revealing it to be a binary pair. 

In 2024, NASA and ISRO are scheduled to launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite for remote sensing

Here are some space missions: 

• Perseverance rover NASA’s rover landed on Mars in February 2021 to search for signs of past life and collect samples to bring back to Earth. 
• Tianwen-1 China’s orbiter and rover mission that arrived on Mars in February 2021 to study the planet. 
• Apollo 11 The first manned mission to the moon’s surface, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent 20 hours and took a two-hour moonwalk. 
• Voyager 1 A 1977 mission to interstellar space. 

Other space missions include: 

• Vostok I: The first man in space in 1961. 
• Vostok 6: The first woman in space in 1963. 
• Mariner 4: The first image of another planet in 1965. 
• Venera 7: The first landing on another planet in 1970. 
• Apollo 13: A daring rescue mission in 1970. 

Space probes can be categorized into four types: 

• Fly-by missions: Pass nearby planets and moons to collect data from a distance. 
• Orbiters: Remain in orbit. 
• Landers: Land on a planet or moon. 
• Rovers: Travel across a planet or moon’s surface.

NASA’s Apollo 11 mission is considered one of its most famous missions. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon

Yes, SpaceX is involved with the Artemis program. In 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to develop and build a human lander for Artemis III and Artemis IV. The lander is a variation of the Starship rocket

The Artemis program is one of NASA’s first large-scale collaborations with commercial companies. The program is developing technologies, such as rockets and spacesuits, to help future deep-space missions

SpaceX’s plan for the Moon involves landing astronauts near the lunar South Pole for moonwalks and surveys. Future missions will involve delivering supplies, equipment, and science payloads for surface exploration. 

SpaceX’s plan also includes: 

• Uncrewed demonstration mission Before Artemis III, SpaceX will conduct an uncrewed demonstration mission to the Moon. 
• Commercial cargo contract SpaceX has a contract with Astrolab to send its Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover to the Moon. 
• Unique concept of operations SpaceX plans to use a unique concept of operations to increase the overall efficiency of their lander.

NASA plans to use Starships to land astronauts on the moon during Artemis III and IV missions, which could take place as early as 2025 and 2028. The Artemis 3 mission is scheduled to take place in 2025-26. However, NASA officials said it’s unlikely Starship will be able to meet that timeline. 

SpaceX plans to use Starship vehicles as tankers, refueling other Starships to allow missions to the Moon and Mars. Starship is primarily meant to enable SpaceX’s ambition of colonizing Mars

The SpaceX Starship is designed to be fully reusable. The Super Heavy booster, the first stage of the Starship launch system, is also fully reusable. It will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land back at the launch site

The Starship will return from space by belly-flopping through the atmosphere like a sky diver before pivoting to a vertical position for landing. 

The Super Heavy booster will separate from Starship and fall back to Earth for a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico. There, it will sink to the ocean floor. 

The Starship’s Raptor engines and any unnecessary flight control systems would be removed for eventual return to the Earth and used on future Starship missions.

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