University of Virginia, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Matt Pryal speaks on Artemis Moon Mission

September 1, 2022

After a 50-year absence, NASA is aiming to go back to the moon.

The space agency has dubbed its newest lunar program “Artemis,” after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, with three flights planned to the moon: an initial unmanned flight, currently scheduled to launch on Saturday; a manned flight with four astronauts in orbit around the moon, launching no earlier than 2024; and then the final flight, in which two members of the crew will land on the moon’s surface, tentatively in 2025.

Matt Pryal, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia, said he was drawn into the field by Joe Durkin, his ninth-grade earth and space science teacher, who had an infectious passion for astronomy. Read more...

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