At least we went for a ride. NASA is testing a space elevator for a future landing on the Moon

December 28, 02:05 Share:

Astronauts test elevator for mission with Starship (Photo:NASA)

According to the plan, the Starship landing system will deliver two astronauts from the Orion spacecraft to the surface of the Moon and will serve as a residence for the crew. A special elevator will connect the Starship's living area, located at the top of the lander, and the surface of the Moon.

The day before, a mock-up of an elevator with a full-scale body section and a full-fledged interface for the crew was created at the SpaceX plant in California.. In a recent demonstration combined with testing, astronauts from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) Nicole Mann and Doug Wheelock tested the usability of this layout. To do this, they donned spacesuits that mimic the size of an astronaut's suit and create mobility restrictions similar to those a crew would face on the Moon.

“The suit crew provided feedback on elevator controls such as gate latches, ramp deployment interfaces for entering and exiting the elevator cart, cargo space availability and dynamic operations; the basket moved along a vertical rail system,” NASA noted

Let us remind you that before delivering people to the Moon, Starship must complete an uncrewed mission to the lunar surface. This massive vehicle from SpaceX completed its second test flight last month.. But a full flight is still a long way off, and this creates risks that the Artemis mission was not completed on time. As you know, NASA wants to launch the Artemis-3 mission, during which it will land people on the Moon for the first time in decades, in 2025.

Read also: Artemis II mission. The names of the likely participants in the flight to the Moon have become known. This is alarming.. US Orion spacecraft was damaged during the Artemis I Blue Moon mission. Jeff Bezos' company will build a lunar module for the Artemis V mission