Elevator prototype for landing people on Moon is successfully tested

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Doug Wheelock successfully tested a scaled-down prototype of SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS). In the future, a similar device should land astronauts from the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions on the lunar surface. This is stated in a message posted on the NASA website.

The lunar elevator model was built at the SpaceX plant in Hawthorne, California, USA. This is part of the cabin with working mechanisms and controls. During the tests, astronauts wore spacesuits that simulated the mobility restrictions they would encounter on the Moon.

The Starship lander with HLS is expected to allow the Artemis mission's two-person crew to travel between the Moon and the Orion spacecraft, where the rest of the crew will be stationed at the time.

The Artemis III mission, which will land astronauts on the Moon, is scheduled for 2025, but NASA has not ruled out that it could be delayed due to the need for improvements to the Starship.

In December 2022, NASA's Artemis I mission was successfully completed and the Orion spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean. As part of the second stage of the program, astronauts will fly around the Moon and return to Earth. Artemis 2 will be the first manned mission beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17. This was the last mission to land on the Moon in December 1972. And as part of the third stage of the Artemis III mission, astronauts will land on the surface of the Moon.