The big day for NASA is approaching: the new giant American SLS rocket arrived this Wednesday morning at its launch pad, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, before its planned takeoff to the Moon in twelve days.
The first flight back to the Moon
This mission will mark the first flight of the great American program to return to the Moon, called Artemis.
Artemis 1 will take place without astronauts on board, because its goal is to test the rocket and the capsule on top of it to make sure they can safely transport a crew to the Moon, starting in 2024.
The rocket, called SLS (Space Launch System), has been in development for more than a decade and will become the most powerful in the world when it blasts off. It measures 98 meters high.
It was installed in the legendary 39B Firing Complex after a 10-hour overnight drive from the assembly building.
“To all of us who gaze toward the moon, dream of the day humanity returns to the lunar surface, folks, here we are, here we go again,” NASA CEO Bill Nelson told a news conference.
The Orion capsule will be propelled towards the Moon, and even 64,000 km beyond, venturing farther than any previous habitable spacecraft.
On its return to the Earth’s atmosphere, the thermal shield must withstand a speed close to 40,000 km/h and a temperature half that of the Sun’s surface.
Takeoff scheduled for August 29 at the earliest
Liftoff is scheduled for August 29 at 8:33 am local time. If the weather is not cooperative, the reservation dates are September 2 or 5.
The mission should last 42 days in total, until a return to the Pacific Ocean, where the ship will be recovered by a US Navy ship.
In 2024, the Artemis 2 mission will carry astronauts into orbit around the Moon, without landing there. This honor will be reserved for the crew of Artemis 3, a mission scheduled for 2025 at the earliest.
The last time humans landed on the moon was on Apollo 17 in 1972.
While the Apollo program only allowed white men to walk on the Moon, the Artemis program plans to send the first woman and the first person of color there.
The goal is to make the Moon a back base where the technologies needed to send humans to Mars will be developed.
Source: BFM TV
