Artemis 1 Blasts Off
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NASA's Artemis 1 rocket successfully lifted off this morning in the agency's fourth attempt to launch the un-crewed spacecraft for a 1.3-million-mile mission around the moon and back to Earth.
The $4.1B mission, a combination of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft (see 101), was initially scheduled to launch in August but was delayed by technical issues and Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. It marks the first use of the SLS and is seen as a precursor to possible human travel farther into space. The mission will take 25 days, primarily due to the moon's position—the solar-powered spacecraft cannot be in the moon's shadow for longer than 90 minutes or it risks losing power. See what's on board the spacecraft here.
Artemis 2, scheduled for 2024, will send a crewed vehicle on the same flyby, while Artemis 3 is tentatively set to return humans to the moon's surface in 2025.