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National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts tested (NASA) The elevator of the giant spacecraft Starship, wearing their space suits, for the purpose of simulating the space environment within the final stages of preparation, in light of the US Space Agency’s efforts to revive human activity on the surface of the moon during the next few years.
Under the concluded partnership contract, the aviation and space transportation manufacturing company “SpaceX” is responsible for building the Starship spacecraft that will land the astronauts on the surface of the moon, after picking them up from the Orion spacecraft that will be in orbit around the moon.
According to the initial plan, the astronauts will remain inside the Starship spacecraft on the surface of the moon for seven days, and during that period there will be some activities that require the astronauts to land themselves on the surface of the moon via an elevator designated for this purpose.
And he came Elevator design for crew transportation And all the equipment and machines from the spacecraft to the surface of the moon, and vice versa, have recently been subjected to extensive tests with regard to all the functions assigned to it, and a study of its mechanical ability to respond to astronauts, due to the pivotal role it will play in the mission to return to the moon, noting that The spacecraft is 50 meters high, which is approximately 15 stories high.
The elevator contains plenty of space for transporting mechanical equipment and tools, and it also contains an easy-to-use control panel that allows the astronauts to control smoothly and effectively. There are also gate latches that ensure the safety of the astronauts and tools from falling down.
NASA officials point out that the importance of this experiment lies not only in testing the efficiency of the elevator, but also in giving astronauts a feeling and similar experience about the mechanism and nature of work on the surface of the moon.
NASA is aiming for a mission Artemis 3 To send the first human group to the moon after a long hiatus since the Apollo program, which witnessed the landing of the last two astronauts in 1972. And given the fierce competition that took place during the past two years between SpaceX and Blue Origin to obtain the contract to build a spacecraft for the mission to land on the moon’s surface, In which SpaceX won, there was a major delay that pushed the landing process to 2027 instead of next year as planned.
As for the manned Artemis 2 mission, it is scheduled to take place at the end of this year, and will witness the sending of 4 astronauts into orbit around the moon, which will be a preparation for the next mission if things go according to plan.
