Astronauts will travel to space again in search of new space experiences traveling to the Moon only in 2023.
On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, NASA announced Wednesday that it expects that by the end of August will launch its giant new moon rocket.
The space agency will try to carry out the test flight of more than a month with three mannequins, but without astronauts, which could also happen on 29 August. There are also two launch dates in early September, before NASA has to stop for two weeks.
Free Jim, expert of the agency, stressed that the test flight is the beginning of “the return to the moon of our Artemis program.” The agency’s new lunar program is named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology.
The full moon behind the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft overhead, at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B in Merritt Island, Florida, USA. Photo: EFE
The 30-story high Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule outbuildings are currently in the hangar of the Kennedy Space Center following fixes resulting from last month’s test countdown. During repeated launch tests from the pad, fuel leaks and other technical problems emerged.
NASA officials assured reporters Wednesday that the problems have been resolved and the test is nearly complete. But they warned him release dates may varydepending on Florida’s unstable weather and any problems that might arise before the rocket returns to the platform on August 18.
“We will be cautious,” said Free, director of exploration systems development. At 98 meters high, the rocket and the Orion capsule are larger than the Statue of Liberty. On the moon it’s okay, astronauts will board in 2023 for a trip to Earth’s satellite, before landing on the moon in 2025.
NASA’s Artemis I mission managers expect the test flight to take off in late August or early September 2022. Photo: EFE
Astronauts last explored the Moon in 1972. The first of 12 men to set foot there, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin they arrived on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins was in orbit.
Aldrin, 92, the sole survivor of the mission, celebrated the anniversary in a tweet: “Neil, Michael and I were proud to represent America in making that huge leap for humanity. It was a moment that united the world and the brightest time in America. ”
Source: Clarin
