NASA has a new megarocket to test through a trip to the Moon – the Artemis I mission. The space agency still needs some time to get it ready after it failed to launch it twice already. A hydrogen leak is one of the problems that need to be fixed.
For the optimistic scenario, NASA might be able to send its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into space by the end of the current month, but it also needs a critical waiver from the US Space Force.
Possible launch date: September 23
Space.com reveals that NASA has scheduled a new possible launch of its megarocket on September 23 if things go as planned.
Artemis 1 represents a first but important step for NASA in its broader challenge of returning humans to the Moon after more than 50 years. The next astronauts landing on our natural satellite should touchdown by 2025 if NASA’s plan works.
However, Artemis 1 doesn’t involve any people onboard. It only consists of an uncrewed flight that will have to put the SLS megarocket to the test, as well as the Orion spacecraft. If everything works well, it means that the rocket and the spacecraft are suitable for taking astronauts to the Moon.
NASA’s upcoming Artemis I mission even has a trailer that was published on August 24, and it sounds pretty optimistic:
The presentation of the video says:
The journey of half a million miles – the first flight of the Artemis Generation – is about to begin. The uncrewed Artemis I mission will jump-start humanity’s return to the Moon with the thunderous liftoff of NASA’s powerful new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. This critical flight test will send Orion farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, putting new systems and processes to the test and lighting the way for the crew missions to come. Artemis I is ready for departure – and, together with our partners around the world, we are ready to return to the Moon, with our sights on Mars and beyond.
The last time humans went to the Moon was in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.
