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Artemis II Space Exploration

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Artemis II Space Exploration

Read the briefing, inspect the mission profile, then solve the questions. Use evidence from the page and your science knowledge.

A journey around the Moon

Artemis II is the first crewed mission in NASA’s Artemis programme. Its crew of four is planned to travel in the Orion spacecraft, launched by the Space Launch System rocket. Orion will carry the crew around the Moon and return to Earth; the mission is not planned to land on the Moon. During the journey, the crew will test Orion’s systems with people aboard, including life support, communications and navigation. These tests help prepare for future missions. On the way home, Orion will enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. Its heat shield helps protect the capsule from intense heating, and parachutes slow it for a splashdown in the ocean. Spacecraft do not simply point towards a destination and fly in a straight line: gravity and motion shape their paths.

Mission profile

Follow the route in order. The line shows the mission’s broad sequence, not distances or scale.

1. Launch from Earth

2. Travel towards the Moon

3. Fly around the Moon

4. Return to Earth

1.Choose the crew size stated in the briefing.

Two astronauts
Four astronauts
Eight astronauts

2.True or false? Artemis II is planned to land its crew on the Moon. Correct the statement if it is false.

TrueFalse

3.Name two Orion systems the crew will test during the mission.

4.Match each spacecraft part or feature to its job.

Heat shield
Parachutes
Rocket

Slow Orion before ocean splashdown
Helps protect Orion from heating during atmospheric return
Provides the thrust to launch the spacecraft

5.Explain why testing life support and communications with a crew aboard is useful before future missions.

6.The Moon’s gravity affects a spacecraft as it travels nearby. Why might its route curve instead of staying perfectly straight?

7.Put these events in mission order by writing 1–4: return to Earth; fly around the Moon; launch; travel towards the Moon.

8.A classmate says, “The heat shield is mainly for launching Orion.” Use the briefing to correct this idea and describe when the heat shield is important.

9.Plan one question you would want mission scientists to investigate using information from Artemis II. Explain what the answer could help people learn.

Orbit: a path followed by an object moving under gravity. Mission: a planned journey or task. Splashdown: a spacecraft landing in the sea.