EXPLORATION MISSION-1 (EM-1) Deep Space Exploration Systems

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sNASA

Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the newly upgraded Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Exploration Mission-1 will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

EM-1 is a critical evaluation milestone in the certification path for the Deep Space Exploration Systems in support of human spaceflight starting with Exploration Mission-2. The primary operations goal is to assure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery.

The powerful and capable SLS will launch from the historic Launch Pad 39B to send an uncrewed Orion thousands of miles beyond the Moon. In flight, EM-1 will test SLS’s launch performance, Orion’s ability to operate in deep space, and deep-space navigation and communication systems. The European Service Module for this mission will power Orion while providing propulsion, electrical power, air, water, and thermal control during voyages through deep space and for up to four crewmembers on future missions.

In addition to sending Orion on its journey around the Moon, SLS will carry 13 small satellites that will perform their own science and technology investigations. This mission is a rare opportunity for these experiments to reach deep space destinations, as most launch opportunities for CubeSats are to low-Earth orbit. Once Orion is a safe distance away, the CubeSats will deploy from the upper stage of the rocket to study the lunar surface, measure magnetic fields in space, or assess the impact of deep space radiation on living yeast.

The mission will end with a test of Orion’s capability to return safely to the Earth. After about three weeks and a total distance traveled exceeding 1.3 million miles, the spacecraft will make a precision landing within eyesight of the recovery ship off the coast of California. Following splashdown, Orion will remain powered for a period of time as Navy divers and operations teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems approach in small boats from the waiting recovery ship. After brief inspection for hazards, the divers will hook up tending lines and a tow line and engineers will tow the capsule into the well-deck of the recovery ship to bring the spacecraft home.

Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) flight path. The first uncrewed, integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems. The Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket will launch from a modernized Kennedy spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Exploration Mission-1 is foundational to the space economy, fueling new industries and technologies, supporting job growth, and furthering the demand for a highly skilled work force. Men and women in all fifty states are hard at work building the Deep Space Exploration Systems to support missions to deep space. NASA prime contractors, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Jacobs, Lockheed Martin, and Orbital ATK currently have nearly 4,000 suppliers contributing to the milestone achievement that heralds the success of America’s human spaceflight program.

We invite you to follow along at: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration

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