Here's what you should know about the new flight to the moon

With the “Artemis” mission, the US space agency Nasa is planning the future of manned space travel: after 50 years, back to the moon, including the first woman, and then to Mars. So far, however, the mission has mainly been plagued by crises. The first big test flight is scheduled for early Monday afternoon.

The program, named after the Greek goddess of the moon, is extremely complex: US astronauts are supposed to go back to the moon. A rover is also to be included, and mankind's outposts are also to be created on the moon and in its orbit. Among other things, possibilities for the production of solar and nuclear energy are to be explored on the moon.

Later, even Mars will be targeted as a target by astronauts - with the moon outpost "Gateway" as a base camp. Now, after years of ground testing, the first test flight is pending: after takeoff, “Artemis 1” is scheduled to orbit the moon and land in the Pacific again around 40 days later.

Actually, Mars had been NASA's goal - but former US President Trump had put the focus back on the moon, also, observers say, because Trump had wanted US astronauts on the moon during his presidency to do that than to celebrate his success. However, Trump was then voted out in 2020. The moon remained the goal – with Mars as a long-term goal.

"We're flying back to the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit and to inspire a new generation of explorers," NASA said. "We'll keep American dominance in exploration, but at the same time build a global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of all." A kind of lunar economic sector with many jobs is to be created.

From the exploration of the moon, the Nasa scientists hope not only new information about the satellite itself, but also about the earth and the entire solar system. The moon mission is also intended to prepare for the landing of humans on Mars - among other things through technical innovations.

The government of former US President Donald Trump had originally announced a first manned landing by 2024. However, the current Nasa boss Bill Nelson, appointed by Trump's successor Joe Biden, quickly made it clear that this schedule could not be kept and postponed the first manned landing to 2025 - at the earliest. NASA recently identified 13 possible landing positions on the moon.

More than 30 billion dollars are initially estimated. In addition to NASA and the European Space Agency Esa, the space agencies of several other countries are also involved.

Mainly the heavy lift rocket "Space Launch System" and the capsule "Orion". It is the "most powerful rocket ever built" and currently the "only rocket that can fly to the moon with a crew," said Nasa boss Nelson recently at a press conference.

Among other things, Esa supplied an important component of the "Orion" spacecraft with the European service module. Elon Musk's SpaceX and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are currently competing for the contract to build a moon landing device.

The development and construction of the missile system took longer and was more expensive than anticipated. In addition, there were repeated setbacks because new technical problems arose during tests.

Nasa has set itself a target: It should definitely be the first woman and the first non-white person among them. But who that should be exactly and who else could be on board is not yet clear. According to NASA, all current astronauts of the space agency are possible candidates. A Canadian astronaut should also be there - and European astronauts could also fly with "Artemis" to the "Gateway" outpost and then even to the moon itself.

China is also working on putting its own astronauts on the moon. The People's Republic has landed on the surface of the moon several times with research robots and has successfully brought moon rock back to earth. In the 2030s, according to reports from the Chinese state media, a permanent station is to be built on the moon in a further step.

The research station could therefore be set up and operated jointly with Russia. In addition, India and the United Arab Emirates, among others, have their sights set on the moon, albeit without concrete manned plans for the time being.

There are no living people on board - but at least two dolls: Zohar and Helga. This is a project with German and Israeli participation. It is being tested whether a protective vest developed in Israel can effectively protect a female body in particular from dangerous space radiation.

Only one of the dolls developed in Germany, which imitate the female body with bones, soft tissue and genitals, is said to wear the protective vest developed by the Israeli start-up StemRad. The torsos are equipped with radiation detectors. These are intended to show how great the stress on the internal organs of female astronauts would be on a moon trip.

That was almost exactly 50 years ago. "We are going as we came, and God willing, that is how we will come back, with peace and hope for all mankind," said astronaut Eugene Cernan before he launched the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Mission left the earth's satellite again - as the last person to have walked on the moon. Cernan passed away in 2017.

Between 1969 and 1972, the USA was the only country to bring a total of twelve astronauts to the moon with the "Apollo" missions. With “Artemis” – twin sister of “Apollo” in Greek mythology – Nasa now wants to catch up.