The Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket will send an Orion spacecraft into deep space on a crucial test of all systems to make sure they are ready to carry astronauts.
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| Artemis-1 on the Launch Pad of Kenedy Space Center, NASA : Credit : NASA |
NASA plans to test everything to its limit to get ready for the Artemis 2 crewed mission around the moon, and the Artemis 3 landing mission. Eventually, the agency hopes its Artemis program will help build up systems for exploring Mars.
"Everything we're doing with this Artemis-1 flight, we're looking at through the lens of what can we prove out and what can we demonstrate that will buy down risk for the Artemis-2 crewed mission," explained NASA's Astronaut Randy Bresnik.
Here You Can Watch the Live Video of Artemis-1's Launch .
The American Space Agency NASA is counting down to the lift-off of its giant new Moon Rocket - the Space Launch System. SLS is the most powerful vehicle ever developed by NASA, and will be the foundation of its Artemis project which aims to put people back on the Lunar-Surface after a 50-year absence. The rocket is timed to go up from the Kenedy Space Centre at 08:33 local time (12:33 GMT; 13:33 BST) on Monday. Its job will be to propel a test Capsule, called Orion, far from Earth. This Spacecraft will loop around the Moon on a big arc before returning home to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in six weeks' time. Orion is uncrewed for this demonstration but assuming all the hardware works as it should, astronauts will climb aboard for a future series of even more complex missions, starting in 2024.