#crew-safety

#crew-safety

The moment space fans have waited more than 50 years for is almost upon us, as NASA prepares to launch its Artemis II mission to the moon. But as the space agency counts down to the historic launch, experts have revealed everything that might go wrong. From a devastating fire on the launch pad to the sudden loss of power mid-flight, the astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - must be prepared for every eventuality.

Last week, news emerged that the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft docked to China's Tiangong space station had sustained serious damage, likely due to space debris. The capsule was meant to allow a crew of three astronauts to return to Earth on November 5, but thanks to "tiny cracks" in the "return capsule's viewport window," the Shenzhou-20 crew had to return home on the Shenzhou-21 shuttle that delivered their replacements to the station instead, safely landing in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region last week.

"Since the contract was awarded, we have been consistently responsive to NASA as requirements for Artemis III have changed and have shared ideas on how to simplify the mission to align with national priorities. In response to the latest calls, we've shared and are formally assessing a simplified mission architecture and concept of operations that we believe will result in a faster return to the Moon while simultaneously improving crew safety," SpaceX wrote in its post.