Searching for a New Vehicle for the Artemis Mission

Although we always see rockets and the latest status of astronauts in NASA’s missions from the past to the present, the vehicles that carry the astronauts to the launch area were also given great importance. The same vehicle provided this service to the astronauts for a long time, but when the Space Shuttle period ended, this vehicle was out of use.

This vehicle, which we know as the Astrovan, was a 1983 model Airstream. Of course, the vehicle in question was designed to serve the high-end needs of astronauts, even if they were to travel short distances. From 1984 to 2011, only 42.650 km traveled. Now it will be replaced by another vehicle for the next mission.

Whether it’s zero-emission or wide-door, it can carry 8 people:

NASA has 3 options for the vehicle in question. These; a manufacturer builds a vehicle specifically for NASA, modifies an already existing vehicle, or overhauls the venerable Astrovan. The following items stand out in the list of NASA, which provides a long list of its criteria:

• Must be a zero emission vehicle such as hybrid or battery powered
• Must have a carrying capacity of 8 people in total, including 4 full suit astronauts
• It should have enough capacity for other items as well as large bags for items such as headboards.
• Astronauts should have wide doors between 60 and 90 centimeters in order to enter and exit easily.

NASA requests such a vehicle for the Artemis mission. This mission, in which 4 astronauts will travel in the Orion spacecraft, is expected to take place in late 2023 or early 2024. The focus of this mission is to set foot on the Moon again. In this way, we will have experience for longer distances.