This Week In Space History (11/16 - 11/22)

🚀 This Week in Space History: November 16 - November 22
The week of November 16th to 22nd has seen some of the most pivotal moments in human space exploration—from the race to the Moon to the dawn of a new era of lunar travel. Join us as we look back at the historical launches and planetary milestones that shaped our journey to the stars!
🌕 The Return to the Moon: Artemis I
November 16, 2022: A new chapter in lunar exploration began as NASA successfully launched the Artemis I mission.
 * The Launch: The powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket—the most powerful rocket built since the Saturn V—successfully launched the uncrewed Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B.
 * Significance: Artemis I was the inaugural flight of NASA's Artemis program, designed to return humans to the Moon. It was a critical test of the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule, sending Orion on a 25.5-day mission around the Moon and back, paving the way for future crewed missions.
👨🚀 Going for the Landing: Apollo 12
November 14 - November 24, 1969: While the launch was a few days before our calendar window, the critical lunar landing phase of the Apollo 12 mission took place this week.
 * Launch Date: November 14, 1969.
 * Lunar Landing: On November 19, 1969, Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean landed the Lunar Module Intrepid on the Ocean of Storms.
 * The Precision: This was NASA's second crewed mission to land on the Moon, and it demonstrated a new level of precision. The crew successfully executed a "pinpoint" landing near the robotic Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed two years earlier.
 * Science on the Moon: The astronauts conducted two Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), collecting rock samples and deploying the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). They even retrieved parts of the Surveyor 3 probe for analysis back on Earth.
🌠 First on Venus: Venera 3
November 16, 1965: The Soviet Union launched the Venera 3 probe, marking a historic first in the exploration of other planets.
 * The Mission: Venera 3 was designed to be the first spacecraft to land on the surface of another planet—Venus.
 * A First, But No Data: It successfully impacted the surface of Venus on March 1, 1966, making it the first human-made object to land on another celestial body. Unfortunately, due to a communications failure, it was unable to transmit any data back to Earth before or after landing. It was a pioneering moment that demonstrated the technical feasibility of interplanetary travel.
🇺🇸 A President and the Space Race
November 16, 1963: Just six days before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy visited the launch facilities at Cape Canaveral for the final time.
 * Renewed Commitment: His visit reportedly renewed his enthusiasm and commitment to the ambitious Apollo program, the very initiative he had launched with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. This visit underscores the profound national focus and political will behind the space race.