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La NASA comparte avances sobre las primeras misiones lunares Artemis con tripulación


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Los miembros de la tripulación del Artemis II (de izquierda a derecha) Jeremy Hansen, astronauta de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense), y Christina Koch, Victor Glover y Reid Wiseman, astronautas de la NASA, parten del cuartel de tripulación de astronautas en el edificio de operaciones y control Neil Armstrong hacia los vehículos de transporte de la tripulación de Artemis antes de desplazarse a la plataforma de lanzamiento 39B como parte de una prueba integrada de los sistemas de tierra en el Centro Espacial Kennedy en Florida el miércoles 20 de septiembre, para poner a prueba la cronología de la tripulación para el día del lanzamiento.
NASA

La NASA anunció el martes cambios en las próximas misiones Artemis, que sentarán las bases para la exploración científica a largo plazo de la Luna, el aterrizaje de la primera mujer y la primera persona no blanca en la superficie lunar, y la preparación de expediciones con seres humanos a Marte en beneficio de todos. Para llevar a cabo estas misiones de forma segura, los dirigentes de la agencia han ajustado los calendarios de Artemis II y Artemis III para que los equipos técnicos puedan superar los retos asociados a los primeros desarrollos, operaciones e integración.

El objetivo de la NASA es ahora septiembre de 2025 para Artemis II, la primera misión Artemis tripulada alrededor de la Luna, y septiembre de 2026 para Artemis III, la cual se prevé que aterrice con los primeros astronautas cerca del Polo Sur lunar. Artemis IV, la primera misión a la estación espacial lunar Gateway, sigue prevista para 2028.

“Estamos regresando a la Luna como nunca antes lo habíamos hecho, y la seguridad de nuestros astronautas es la máxima prioridad de la NASA mientras nos preparamos para futuras misiones Artemis”, dijo el administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson. “Hemos aprendido mucho desde Artemis I, y el éxito de estas primeras misiones depende de nuestras asociaciones comerciales e internacionales para ampliar nuestro alcance y comprensión del lugar de la humanidad en nuestro sistema solar. Artemis representa lo que podemos lograr como nación y como coalición mundial. Cuando nos proponemos lograr lo difícil, juntos podemos conseguir lo grandioso”.

Garantizar la seguridad de la tripulación es el principal motivo de los cambios en el calendario de Artemis II. Como primera prueba de vuelo Artemis con tripulación a bordo de la nave espacial Orion, la misión pondrá a prueba sistemas críticos de control medioambiental y de soporte vital necesarios para sustentar a los astronautas. Las pruebas de la NASA para calificar los componentes para mantener a la tripulación segura y garantizar el éxito de la misión han revelado problemas que requieren tiempo adicional para ser resueltos. Los equipos técnicos están solucionando un asunto relacionado con la batería y abordando retos con un componente del circuito responsable de la ventilación del aire y el control de la temperatura.

Se espera que la investigación de la NASA sobre la pérdida inesperada de trozos de capa de carbón del escudo térmico de la nave espacial durante Artemis I concluya esta primavera boreal. Los equipos técnicos han adoptado un enfoque metódico para entender el problema, que incluye un amplio muestreo del escudo térmico, pruebas y revisión de los datos de los sensores y las imágenes.

El nuevo calendario para Artemis III se alinea con el calendario actualizado para Artemis II, garantiza que la agencia pueda incorporar las lecciones aprendidas de Artemis II en la próxima misión y reconoce los retos de desarrollo que han experimentado los socios industriales de la NASA. Dado que cada misión Artemis  tripulada aumenta la complejidad y añade pruebas de vuelo para nuevos sistemas, el calendario ajustado proporcionará a los proveedores que desarrollan nuevas capacidades (SpaceX para el sistema de aterrizaje humano y Axiom Space para los trajes espaciales de nueva generación) tiempo adicional para las pruebas y cualquier refinamiento antes de la misión.

“Estamos dejando que el hardware nos dé información para que la seguridad de la tripulación guíe nuestra toma de decisiones. Utilizaremos la prueba de vuelo de Artemis II, y cada uno de los vuelos siguientes, para reducir el riesgo de futuras misiones a la Luna”, declaró Catherine Koerner, administradora asociada de la Dirección de Misiones de Desarrollo de Sistemas de Exploración de la sede central de la NASA en Washington. “Estamos resolviendo los retos asociados con las capacidades y operaciones nuevas, y estamos más cerca que nunca de establecer una exploración sostenida del vecino más cercano de la Tierra mediante Artemis”.

Además de las actualizaciones del calendario para Artemis II y III, la NASA está reexaminando el calendario para el lanzamiento de los primeros elementos integrados de Gateway, previsto anteriormente para octubre de 2025, con el fin de proporcionar tiempo de desarrollo adicional y alinear mejor ese lanzamiento con la misión Artemis IV en 2028.

La NASA también ha comunicado que ha pedido a los dos proveedores del sistema de aterrizaje para seres humanos de Artemis (SpaceX y Blue Origin) que, como parte de sus contratos actuales, empiecen a aplicar los conocimientos adquiridos en el desarrollo de sus sistemas a futuras variaciones para poder transportar grandes cargamentos en misiones posteriores.

“Artemis es una campaña de exploración a largo plazo para llevar a cabo actividades científicas en la Luna con astronautas y preparar futuras misiones tripuladas a Marte. Eso significa que debemos hacerlo bien a medida que desarrollamos y lanzamos nuestros sistemas fundamentales para que podamos llevar a cabo estas misiones con seguridad”, dijo Amit Kshatriya, administrador adjunto de Desarrollo de Sistemas de Exploración, y gerente de la Oficina del Programa de la Luna a Marte de la NASA en la sede de la agencia. “La seguridad de la tripulación es y seguirá siendo nuestra prioridad número uno”.

Los dirigentes de la NASA hicieron hincapié en la importancia de que todos los socios cumplan los plazos para que la agencia pueda maximizar los objetivos de vuelo con el hardware disponible en cada misión. La NASA evalúa periódicamente el progreso y los plazos como parte de la planificación programática integrada para garantizar que la agencia y sus socios puedan cumplir con éxito sus objetivos de exploración de la Luna a Marte.

Mediante Artemis, la NASA explorará la Luna más que nunca, aprenderá a vivir y trabajar lejos de nuestro hogar y se preparará para la futura exploración con seres humanos del planeta rojo. El cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial de la NASA, los sistemas terrestres de exploración y la nave Orion, junto con el sistema de aterrizaje para humanos, los trajes espaciales de nueva generación, la estación espacial lunar Gateway y los futuros vehículos exploradores son la base de la NASA para la exploración del espacio profundo.

Para más información sobre Artemis (en inglés), visita:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-fin-

Kathryn Hambleton / Rachel Kraft
Sede, Washington
202-358-1100 / 202-365-7575
kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov / rachel.h.kraft@nasa.go

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      La NASA pronto pondrá a prueba los avances realizados en una herramienta clave para medir los singulares ‘golpes sónicos’ que su avión supersónico silencioso de investigación X-59 producirá durante el vuelo.
      Una sonda de detección de impactoses una sonda de datos de aire en forma cónica desarrollada con características específicas para capturar las singulares ondas de choque que producirá el X-59. Investigadores del Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la NASA en Edwards, California, desarrollaron dos versiones de la sonda para recopilar datos precisos de presión durante el vuelo supersónico. Una de las sondas está optimizada para mediciones de campo cercano, capturando las ondas de choque que se producen muy cerca de donde las generará el X-59. La segunda sonda de detección de impactos medirá el centro del campo y recopilará datos a altitudes de entre 5.000 y 20.000 pies por debajo del avión.
      Cuando un avión vuela a velocidades supersónicas, genera ondas de choque que viajan a través del aire circundante, produciendo fuertes estampidos sónicos. El X-59 está diseñado para desviar esas ondas de choque, reduciendo los fuertes estampidos sónicos a golpes sónicos más silenciosos. Durante los vuelos de prueba, un avión F-15B con una sonda de detección de impactos acoplada a su morro volará con el X-59. La sonda, de aproximadamente 1,80 metros (6 pies), recolectará continuamente miles de muestras de presión por segundo, captando los cambios de presión del aire mientras vuela a través de ondas de choque. Los datos de los sensores serán vitales para validar los modelos informáticos que predicen la fuerza de las ondas de choque producidas por el X-59, la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA.
      “Una sonda de detección de impactos actúa como fuente de la verdad, comparando los datos previstos con las mediciones del mundo real”, dijo Mike Frederick, investigador principal de la NASA para la sonda.
      Para la sonda de campo cercano, el F-15B volará cerca del X-59 a su altitud de crucero de aproximadamente 18.000 metros (55.000 pies), utilizando una configuración de “seguir al líder” que permitirá a los investigadores analizar ondas de choque en tiempo real. La sonda de campo medio, destinada para misiones separadas, recopilará datos más útiles a medida que las ondas de choque viajen más cerca al suelo.
      La capacidad de las sondas para captar pequeños cambios de presión es especialmente importante para el X-59, ya que se espera que sus ondas de choque sean mucho más débiles que las de la mayoría de los aviones supersónicos. Al comparar los datos de las sondas con las predicciones de modelos de computadora avanzados, los investigadores pueden evaluar con mayor precisión.
      “Las sondas tienen cinco puertos de presión, uno en la punta y cuatro alrededor del cono”, explica Frederick. “Estos puertos miden los cambios de presión estática a medida que el avión vuela a través de las ondas de choque, lo que nos ayuda a comprender las características de choque de un avión en particular”. Estos puertos combinan sus mediciones para calcular la presión local, la velocidad y la dirección del flujo de aire.
      Los investigadores pronto evaluarán actualizaciones de la sonda de detección de impactos de campo cercano a través de vuelos de prueba, en los que la sonda, montada en un F-15B, recopilará datos persiguiendo a un segundo F-15 durante un vuelo supersónico. Las actualizaciones de la sonda incluyen la colocación de los transductores de presión – dispositivos que miden la presión del aire en el cono – a sólo 5 pulgadas de sus puertos. Los diseños anteriores colocaban esos transductores a casi 3 metros (12 pies) de distancia, lo que retrasaba el tiempo de grabación y distorsionaba las mediciones.
      La sensibilidad a la temperatura de los diseños anteriores también presentó un desafío, ya que provocó fluctuaciones en la precisión cuando cambiaban las condiciones. Para solucionar esto, el equipo diseñó un sistema de calefacción para mantener los transductores de presión a una temperatura constante durante el vuelo.
      “La sonda cumplirá los requisitos de resolución y precisión de la misión Quesst”, afirmó Frederick. “Este proyecto muestra cómo la NASA puede tomar tecnología existente y adaptarla para resolver nuevos desafíos”.
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      Last Updated Dec 13, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
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