NASA Achieves Major Milestone In Its Quest To Land Artemis III Astronauts On The Moon
NASA’s preparations for landing astronauts on the Moon are ramping up.
The agency announced that it achieved a major milestone with the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) that would power the rocket-carrying astronauts to the Moon under Artemis III.
The ICPS is being developed at the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) factory in Alabama and NASA says that major components of this crucial rocket part are complete.
The ICPS is what would provide the in-space propulsion to the Orion spacecraft which would be mounted atop the Space Launch System (SLS) Moon rocket.
Being developed by ULA in collaboration with Boeing, this component will be used after SLS puts the Orion spacecraft into orbit and before it begins its journey toward the Moon on its own.
On the left of the image above is the liquid hydrogen tank of the rocket which has been completed, whereas, on the right features the intertank which connects the liquid oxygen tank with the hydrogen one.