An unprecedented engine issue threatened to delay the launch of NASA’s most powerful rocket on Monday on an uncrewed test flight. The mission is to take humans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
The countdown clock has been put on hold at T-40 minutes. The hydrogen team will discuss the plans with Artemis 1 launch director.
Fifty years following the historic moon landing during the Apollo 17 mission, the Artemis space program is to get underway with the launch of the Space Launch System rocket at 8:33 am from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Thousands of people are expected along the beach, including Vice President Kamala Harris, all gathered to watch the historic launch which has been two decades in the making
While liftoff is scheduled for 8:33 am, there is a two-hour window during which NASA has said there is an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather.
After the slight delays during fueling operations, NASA said it will determine a new launch time within that window.
The rocket’s Orion capsule is set to orbit the Moon to see if the vessel is safe for people in the near future. At some point, Artemis aims to put a woman and a person of color on the Moon for the first time.
“This mission goes with a lot of hopes and dreams of a lot of people. And we now are the Artemis generation,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday.
The next mission, Artemis 2, will take astronauts into orbit around the Moon without landing on its surface. The crew of Artemis 3 is to land on the Moon in 2025 at the earliest.
And since humans have already visited the Moon, Artemis has its sights set on another lofty goal — a crewed mission to Mars.
The Artemis program is to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon with an orbiting space station known as Gateway and a base on the surface.
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