Who Is Artemis Nasa S Latest Moon Mission Named After Ancient Moon Goddess Turned Feminist Icon

Artemis will send an uncrewed rocket on a month-long trip around the Moon. The program aims to increase the participation of women in space exploration – 30% of its engineers are women. In addition, the Artemis I mission will carry two mannequins designed to study the effects of radiation on women’s bodies so NASA can learn how to better protect female astronauts. Female astronauts are currently less likely to be selected for missions than men because their bodies tend to reach NASA’s maximum acceptable radiation limit sooner. NASA expects to bring the first woman and person of color to the Moon on Artemis III sometime after 2024. As a scholar of Greek mythology, I find the mission name quite evocative: The Greeks and Romans associated Artemis with the Moon, and she has also become a modern feminist symbol. Artemis was an important deity in ancient Greece, worshiped at least as early as the first millennium BC, or even earlier. She was the daughter of Zeus, the main god of the Olympians, who ruled the world from the top of Olympus. She was also the twin sister of Apollo, god of the Sun and oracles. Artemis was a virgin goddess of the desert and the hunt. Her independence and strength have long inspired women in a wide range of activities. For example, in a poem titled “Artemis,” author Allison Eir Jenks writes, “I am no longer your goddess…your chef, your bus stop, your healer, your trash,” emphasizing freedom and the autonomy of women. . As the goddess of animals and the desert, Artemis has also inspired environmental conservation programs, in which the goddess is seen as an example of a woman exercising her power in caring for the planet. However, while the Greek Artemis was strong and courageous, she was not always kind and caring, even to women. Her rashness was used to explain the sudden death of a woman, especially in childbirth. This aspect of the goddess has faded with time. With the rise of feminism, Artemis became a symbol of female power and self-reliance. NASA has a long history of naming its missions after mythological figures. Beginning in the 1950s, many rockets and launch systems were named after Greek sky deities, such as Atlas and Saturn, whose Greek name is Kronos. Atlas and Saturn weren’t just gods, they were Titans. In Greek mythology, the Titans represent the untamed, primordial forces of nature, and thus evoke the astonishing vastness of space exploration. Although the Titans were known for their immense strength and power, they were also rebellious and dangerous and were eventually defeated by the Olympians, who represent civilization in Greek mythology. After the advent of human spaceflight, NASA began naming missions by Jupiter’s sky-related children. The Mercury program, active from 1958 to 1963, was named after its Roman counterpart Mercury, the messenger god who flies between Olympus, Earth and the underworld in his winged sandals. Beginning in 1963, the three-year Gemini program involved a capsule designed for two astronauts and named after the twin sons of Jupiter – Castor and Pollux, known as Dioskouri in Greek – who were cast into the stars as the constellation Gemini . They were regularly represented with a star above their heads in Greek and Roman art. The space shuttle program, which ran from 1981 to 2011, deviated from mythological monikers, and the names Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor were intended to evoke a spirit of innovation. With Artemis, NASA is returning to the Apollo program, which ran from 1963 to 1972 and put the first men on the Moon in 1969. More than 50 years later, Artemis will pick up where its twin brother left off, introducing a more diverse era of human spaceflight. Marie-Claire Beaulieu is Associate Professor of Classics at Tufts University. Her main research areas are Greek mythology and digital humanities. She teaches a regular series of mythology and religion courses, including Classical Mythology, Women in Greek Mythology, The Hero’s Journey, and Greek Religion. This story was provided by The Conversation for AP clients. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.

title: “Who Is Artemis Nasa S Latest Moon Mission Named After Ancient Moon Goddess Turned Feminist Icon Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Mark Jennings”

Artemis will send an uncrewed rocket on a month-long trip around the Moon. The program aims to increase the participation of women in space exploration – 30% of its engineers are women. In addition, the Artemis I mission will carry two mannequins designed to study the effects of radiation on women’s bodies so NASA can learn how to better protect female astronauts. Female astronauts are currently less likely to be selected for missions than men because their bodies tend to reach NASA’s maximum acceptable radiation limit sooner. NASA expects to bring the first woman and person of color to the Moon on Artemis III sometime after 2024. As a scholar of Greek mythology, I find the mission name quite evocative: The Greeks and Romans associated Artemis with the Moon, and she has also become a modern feminist symbol. Artemis was an important deity in ancient Greece, worshiped at least as early as the first millennium BC, or even earlier. She was the daughter of Zeus, the main god of the Olympians, who ruled the world from the top of Olympus. She was also the twin sister of Apollo, god of the Sun and oracles. Artemis was a virgin goddess of the desert and the hunt. Her independence and strength have long inspired women in a wide range of activities. For example, in a poem titled “Artemis,” author Allison Eir Jenks writes, “I am no longer your goddess…your chef, your bus stop, your healer, your trash,” emphasizing freedom and the autonomy of women. . As the goddess of animals and the desert, Artemis has also inspired environmental conservation programs, in which the goddess is seen as an example of a woman exercising her power in caring for the planet. However, while the Greek Artemis was strong and courageous, she was not always kind and caring, even to women. Her rashness was used to explain the sudden death of a woman, especially in childbirth. This aspect of the goddess has faded with time. With the rise of feminism, Artemis became a symbol of female power and self-reliance. NASA has a long history of naming its missions after mythological figures. Beginning in the 1950s, many rockets and launch systems were named after Greek sky deities, such as Atlas and Saturn, whose Greek name is Kronos. Atlas and Saturn weren’t just gods, they were Titans. In Greek mythology, the Titans represent the untamed, primordial forces of nature, and thus evoke the astonishing vastness of space exploration. Although the Titans were known for their immense strength and power, they were also rebellious and dangerous and were eventually defeated by the Olympians, who represent civilization in Greek mythology. After the advent of human spaceflight, NASA began naming missions by Jupiter’s sky-related children. The Mercury program, active from 1958 to 1963, was named after its Roman counterpart Mercury, the messenger god who flies between Olympus, Earth and the underworld in his winged sandals. Beginning in 1963, the three-year Gemini program involved a capsule designed for two astronauts and named after the twin sons of Jupiter – Castor and Pollux, known as Dioskouri in Greek – who were cast into the stars as the constellation Gemini . They were regularly represented with a star above their heads in Greek and Roman art. The space shuttle program, which ran from 1981 to 2011, deviated from mythological monikers, and the names Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor were intended to evoke a spirit of innovation. With Artemis, NASA is returning to the Apollo program, which ran from 1963 to 1972 and put the first men on the Moon in 1969. More than 50 years later, Artemis will pick up where its twin brother left off, introducing a more diverse era of human spaceflight. Marie-Claire Beaulieu is Associate Professor of Classics at Tufts University. Her main research areas are Greek mythology and digital humanities. She teaches a regular series of mythology and religion courses, including Classical Mythology, Women in Greek Mythology, The Hero’s Journey, and Greek Religion. This story was provided by The Conversation for AP clients. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.