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La NASA comparte resultados del escudo térmico de Orion, actualiza las misiones Artemis


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Read this release in English here.

Mediante la campaña Artemis, la NASA llevará a los siguientes astronautas estadounidenses y al primer astronauta internacional a la región del Polo Sur de la Luna. El jueves, la NASA anunció las últimas actualizaciones de sus planes de exploración lunar.

Un grupo de expertos examinó los resultados de la investigación de la NASA sobre el escudo térmico de la nave Orion, tras haber sufrido una inesperada pérdida de material carbonizado en su reentrada en la atmósfera durante el vuelo de prueba sin tripulación Artemis I. Para el vuelo de prueba tripulado Artemis II, los ingenieros seguirán preparando a Orion con el escudo térmico ya montado en la cápsula.

La agencia también anunció que ahora apunta a abril de 2026 para el lanzamiento de Artemis II y a mediados de 2027 para Artemis III. Los plazos actualizados de las misiones también contemplan el tiempo necesario para abordar los sistemas de control medioambiental y de soporte vital de Orion.

“La campaña Artemis es la iniciativa internacional más audaz, técnicamente desafiante y colaborativa que la humanidad se haya propuesto jamás”, dijo el administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson. “Hemos logrado avances significativos en la campaña Artemis durante los últimos cuatro años, y estoy orgulloso del trabajo que nuestros equipos técnicos han hecho para prepararnos para este próximo paso adelante en la exploración, ya que buscamos aprender más sobre los sistemas de soporte vital de Orion para sustentar las operaciones de la tripulación durante Artemis II. Tenemos que hacer bien este próximo vuelo de prueba. Así es como la campaña Artemis triunfará”.

La decisión de la agencia se produce después de que una investigación exhaustiva de un problema con el escudo térmico de Artemis I demostrara que el escudo térmico de Artemis II es capaz de mantener a salvo a la tripulación durante la misión planeada con modificaciones en la trayectoria de Orion cuando entre en la atmósfera terrestre y reduzca su velocidad de unos 40.000 kilómetros por hora (casi 25.000 millas por hora) a unos 520 km/h (unas 325 mph) antes de que sus paracaídas se desplieguen para un amerizaje seguro en el océano Pacífico.

“Durante todo nuestro proceso para investigar el fenómeno del escudo térmico y determinar un camino a seguir, nos hemos mantenido fieles a los valores fundamentales de la NASA; pusimos primero la seguridad y el análisis basado en datos”, dijo Catherine Koerner, administradora asociada de la Dirección de Misión de Desarrollo de Sistemas de Exploración en la sede de la NASA en Washington. “Las actualizaciones de nuestros planes de misión son un paso positivo para asegurar que podemos cumplir con seguridad nuestros objetivos en la Luna y desarrollar las tecnologías y capacidades necesarias para las misiones tripuladas a Marte.”

La NASA seguirá acoplando los componentes de su cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial o SLS (un proceso que comenzó en noviembre) y lo preparará para su integración con Orion para Artemis II.

Durante el otoño boreal, la NASA, junto con un equipo de revisión independiente, estableció la causa técnica de un problema observado tras el vuelo de prueba sin tripulación Artemis I, en el que el material carbonizado del escudo térmico se desgastó de forma distinta a la esperada. Un análisis exhaustivo, que incluyó más de 100 pruebas en distintas instalaciones por todo el país, determinó que el escudo térmico de Artemis I no permitía evacuar suficientemente los gases generados en el interior de un material denominado Avcoat, lo que provocó que parte del material se agrietara y se desprendiera. El Avcoat está diseñado para desgastarse a medida que se calienta y es un material clave en el sistema de protección térmica que resguarda a Orion y a su tripulación de los casi 5.000 grados Fahrenheit de temperatura (2.760 grados Celsius) que se generan cuando Orion atraviesa la atmósfera terrestre al regresar de la Luna. Aunque durante Artemis I no había tripulación a bordo de Orion, los datos muestran que la temperatura en el interior de Orion hubiera sido agradable y segura de haber habido tripulación a bordo.

Los equipos de ingeniería ya están ensamblando e integrando la nave Orion para Artemis III basándose en las lecciones aprendidas de Artemis I e implementando mejoras en la forma de fabricar los escudos térmicos para los retornos de las misiones tripuladas de alunizaje con el fin de lograr uniformidad y permeabilidad constante. La reentrada atmosférica doble (“skip entry”) es necesaria para el retorno desde las velocidades previstas para las misiones de alunizaje.

“Victor, Christina, Jeremy y yo hemos estado siguiendo todos los aspectos de esta decisión y estamos agradecidos por la disposición de la NASA a sopesar todas las opciones y tomar decisiones en el mejor interés de los vuelos espaciales tripulados. Estamos entusiasmados por volar con la misión Artemis II y seguir allanando el camino para la exploración humana continua de la Luna y Marte”, declaró Reid Wiseman, astronauta de la NASA y comandante de Artemis II. “Hace poco estuvimos en el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la agencia en Florida y pudimos ver los propulsores de nuestro cohete SLS, la etapa central y la nave Orion. Es inspirador ver la escala de este esfuerzo, conocer a las personas que trabajan en esta máquina, y no podemos esperar a hacerla volar a la Luna”.

Wiseman, junto con los astronautas de la NASA Victor Glover y Christina Koch y el astronauta de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense) Jeremy Hansen, volarán a bordo del vuelo de prueba Artemis II, de 10 días de duración, alrededor de la Luna y de regreso. El vuelo proporcionará datos valiosos sobre los sistemas de Orion necesarios para sustentar a la tripulación en su viaje al espacio profundo y traerlos sanos y salvos de vuelta a casa, incluyendo la renovación del aire en la cabina, las funciones de vuelo manual y cómo interactúan los humanos con el resto del hardware y software de la nave espacial.

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

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

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-fin-

Meira Bernstein / Rachel Kraft / María José Viñas
Sede, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov

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