The Axiom-3 Mission: A Trailblazing Venture into Space
A SpaceX rocket is set to take off for the International Space Station on another trailblazing mission operated entirely by the private sector. On board will be a group of European astronauts, including the first person from Turkey aiming to visit outer space. The mission is the latest in a series of endeavors from the private sector — bolstered by NASA — that aim to churn up a business activity in Earth’s orbit. The United States has for years aimed to increase commercial activity in space as NASA looks ahead to retiring the International Space Station and allowing private space stations to take over so the space agency can focus on missions deeper into the solar system, such as to the moon and Mars. The Axiom-3 mission, organized by Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX and NASA, represents a significant milestone in the shift towards private sector-led space missions. The mission is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a crew of European astronauts, marking a historic moment for space exploration.
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was slated for Wednesday, but the company was forced to delay the mission as it worked to complete final checks before launch. The launch is now slated for 4:49 p.m. ET Thursday. The four-person crew on board Axiom-3, will include Alper Gezeravcı — a fighter pilot with the Turkish air force who is on track to mark a historic milestone as the first citizen of Turkey to reach low-Earth orbit. Also on board will be Walter Villadei, a member of the Italian air force, and Marcus Wandt, who was selected as a member of the European Space Agency’s astronaut reserve in 2022. Leading the journey will be Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut who now serves as a mission commander for Axiom Space.
The Orion pressure vessel for NASA’s Artemis III mission is lifted by crane for its move onto a work stand in the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 20, 2021. The pressure vessel will be secured onto the work stand where Lockheed Matin technicians will begin the work to prepare the spacecraft for its launch atop a Space Launch System rocket. Artemis III will send astronauts, including the first woman and first person of color, on a mission to the surface of the Moon by 2024.Date Created:2021-10-21
Private vs. Government Astronauts
Axiom’s missions are designed to offer flights to the International Space Station to whomever can afford a ticket. The two previous Axiom missions — flown in 2022 and 2023 — have carried a mix of wealthy businesspeople and astronauts whose governments paid for their seats. Thursday’s flight is the first Axiom mission in which a government or space agency has purchased all the seats. Each customer hails from a background as a military pilot, an occupation in which many astronauts have gotten their start. The flights operated by Axiom and SpaceX offer an alternative route to space for private citizens and astronauts from nations that are not part of the routine crew rotation on board the International Space Station. In contrast to NASA's crew changes every six months, Axiom organizes flights to the space station that last only a couple of weeks, allowing private citizens and countries to sign up for the opportunity to travel to space. This shift in space travel dynamics represents a significant departure from traditional government-led space missions.
Research in Space
The Axiom-3 crew is expected to spend 14 days on the space station, working alongside the seven astronauts already on board the orbiting laboratory. The group will have 'a full docket of research, over 30 experiments,' Axiom President Matt Ondler said. The science includes work that will research how astronauts might predict if they are at risk for motion sickness in space, studying lightning on the tops of clouds, tests on proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and an experiment that will explore how gene-edited plants respond in microgravity. This focus on research in space underscores the increasing interest in leveraging the unique environment of space for scientific exploration and discovery. The collaborative nature of the research, involving astronauts from different backgrounds and nationalities, reflects the global effort to utilize space as a platform for advancing scientific knowledge and understanding.
