BACK TO THE MOON |
Artemis I mission marks milestone for Nasa
AFTER months of delays, Nasa’s mission to the moon is finally underway, yet it remains to be seen if the Orion crew vehicle will successfully splash down in early December. “There’s definitely relief, but we also have a heightened sense of awareness that this mission is underway. And I personally am not going to rest well until we get safely to splashdown and recovery,” says Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin.
Artemis I is the first stage of a series of missions designed to send humans to the moon as part of the Artemis programme, but the launch has been delayed on four occasions and is five years behind schedule and billions over budget.
The mission eventually lifted off on 16 November from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in the US, making it the first time Nasa’s Space Launch
System (SLS) – its most powerful rocket yet – and Orion crew vehicle are flying together.
The aim is to test the Orion module SLS rocket as well as ground systems at the KSC to lay the foundations for future missions within the Artemis programme. If all goes according to plan, the Artemis II mission will send astronauts around the moon and back in 2024.