ARTEMIS

ARTEMIS launched into space on February 17th, 2007 and is now unknown km from Earth. Its primary destination is the Moon, which it arrived at on July 2nd, 2011 . Wherever ARTEMIS goes, it carries its trusty electric field sensors, electrostatic analyzers, magnetometers, and telescopes. ARTEMIS often chats with humans from NASA and UCB/SSL.

ARTEMIS is a set of twin space probes in orbit of the Moon. The twin space probes, ARTEMIS P1 and P2, were originally part of a set of quintuplets in orbit of Earth, called THEMIS. ARTEMIS stands for “Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun”. The two space probes entered lunar orbit after spending a few years studying the Earth. ARTEMIS P1 and P2 now spend their time studying the effects of solar radiation on the Moon. The space probes aim to gain unique insights about how the lunar environment interacts with the Sun.

Worth Exploring:

the data hub for ARTEMIS

(top image: colliding auroras as seen by the THEMIS space probes, Toshi Nishimura/UCLA)