Humans haven’t set foot on the Moon since 1972, but on Monday, August 29, NASA is scheduled to begin the process of getting people there.
Artemis 1, an unmanned rocket, is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center on a 42-day mission to the Moon and back. This is a test mission that will test both the booster and the Orion capsule, which will eventually carry astronauts. It’s a way for NASA to learn what it does and doesn’t know.
Do you hope to see the first step in the return to the Moon or do you want to know more? We have the details.
What time will Artemis 1 take off?
Weather permitting, the Artemis 1 mission is scheduled to lift off sometime during a two-hour launch window that opens Monday at 8:33 a.m. ET. Showers are forecast for early in the day, according to The Weather Channel.
If the launch is to be screwed up, the next window opens at lunchtime on Friday, September 2.
Can I watch the launch of Artemis 1 on TV?
NASA TV will broadcast the launch live, with celebrity appearances by Chris Evans and Jack Black. Coverage will begin at 6:30 am ET. The launch is also likely to be covered by major cable news networks and some broadcast networks could get into the lineup briefly.
How do I watch the launch of Artemis 1 online?
There are several options online for space fans to check out. NASA will begin live coverage at 6:30 am ET (Spanish coverage will begin one hour later). You can see it in any of the following feeds:
NASA YouTube Channel
The NASA App
NASA website
The KSC YouTube Channel
If you really can’t wait for launch, you can watch NASA load the rocket with fuel starting at 12:00 am ET.
What makes Artemis 1 unique?
This will be the biggest liftoff in a long, long time and the 322-foot SLS has been billed as the most powerful rocket in history. The two solid rocket boosters and core stage are filled with 733,000 gallons of propellant, which will push the Orion Orion out of the atmosphere and into orbit. A higher stage will send it on its way to the moon.
Orion is unmanned, but it will have three mannequins on board to test what humans will have to endure in flight in terms of g-force and radiation.
What happens when the Orion orbiter reaches the moon?
After completing a full orbit around the Earth, Orion will head on a trajectory that will put it into lunar orbit. After a journey of one to two weeks, it will fly, at times, 60 miles above the surface of the Moon and transmit what are expected to be impressive photos. It will also fly 40,000 miles beyond the moon, collecting data.
The entire mission is expected to last between 26 and 42 days.
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When will NASA send humans back to the moon?
If all goes according to plan, the Artemis 2 mission will send astronauts into lunar orbit in 2024. In 2025 or 2026, the Artemis 3 mission will land at the lunar South Pole, with the help of the SpaceX spacecraft, and return the humans to the surface. .
The moon, of course, is not the final destination. NASA hopes, in the long term, to learn the best ways to live, work and survive in harsh conditions in outer space. That will make manned missions to Mars feasible in the mid-2030s.
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