Buenos Aires, Jan. 16 (NA) – The government of Javier Milei announced on Friday that it will be part of NASA's 'Artemis II' mission to return to the Moon after the end of the Apollo Program in 1972, in another sign of the libertarian administration's alignment with the United States. The President's Office reported this in a communiqué detailing that the Argentine microsatellite Atenea, from the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE), will be deployed during the mission. The mission is scheduled to launch on Friday, February 6, and will be the first crewed expedition to the Moon in over 50 years. In its first stage, the astronauts will not land but will remain in flight behind the Moon, placing them a record distance of 72,000 km from Earth, as no human has ever been so far from the planet. During the launch, the Argentine microsatellite Atenea, developed in conjunction with the Argentine company VENG S.A., the Argentine Institute of Radioastronomy (IAR), the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the National University of La Plata (UNLP), the National University of San Martín (UNSAM), and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires (FIUBA), will be deployed. This Argentine microsatellite 'will allow validating critical technologies for future space missions, giving fundamental information to NASA,' the communiqué stated. Once in space, Atenea will measure radiation in deep orbits, evaluate components for space use, capture GPS data for geostationary transfer orbits, and validate long-range communication links. The launch of Artemis II, with crew on board, 'requires the world's most demanding quality and reliability standards for space activities, so being selected demonstrates the high level of technical and operational capabilities maintained by the Argentine Republic,' the official text highlighted. 'Technological development and research on strategic issues is the priority of this Government's investment in science, while resources are streamlined by eliminating unnecessary spending in social or political science areas,' the Government concluded.
