Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tested the Orion solar array wing for the Artemis II mission, ensuring the spacecraft’s propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power work properly. The Artemis II mission aims to demonstrate human capabilities in deep space with a 10-day Moon flyby.

Before NASA’s Orion spacecraft is outfitted with solar panel wings for the Artemis II mission, teams at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center must first verify that the arrays expand and close properly. On March 17, 2023, technicians at the Neil Armstrong Spaceport facility in Florida activated one of the wings to verify that all the mechanisms were working properly.

Orion will have four solar wings that will draw 11 kilowatts of energy from the Sun to provide propulsion, thermal control and electrical power to the spacecraft. The solar panels will be mounted on the Orion Service Module, built by Airbus and supplied by ESA (European Space Agency), which provides the astronauts with life support materials on board, including water, oxygen and nitrogen.

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. The mission will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day test flight around the moon Artemis II will launch on the agency’s Space Launch System rocket, will test Orion life support Test the skills and techniques needed for systems and humans to live and work in deep space.