The launch of the mission that aims to return humans to the moon will go ahead as planned next week, NASA bosses say.
Artemis 1 received the green light during a flight readiness check at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Here’s what you need to know about the historic space effort.
What does Artemis hope to achieve?
It consists of three stages.
The first is a 42-day uncrewed flight around the Moon. It will test the huge Orion rocket and spacecraft that the astronauts will eventually travel on.
The Orion capsule will fly 60 miles above the moon at its closest point, and during re-entry weeks later it will emerge into Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph before splashing down on the California coast.
A crew will board and leave for the first time for further testing during Artemis 2. The four astronauts have not yet been named, but this stage is scheduled for 2024.
Lasting about eight to 10 days, they will make a lunar flyby before returning to Earth.
Image: Orion spacecraft will finally take humans to the moon Image: America plans to establish a base on the moon for later missions. Image: NASA
Humans will finally land on the moon again during Artemis 3, with NASA saying the crew will include a woman and a person of color.
The timeline depends on how well previous missions go, but is currently slated for 2025.
NASA hopes to build a base camp and conduct annual missions and use it as a test bed for even more ambitious missions, starting with getting a human to Mars.
How powerful is the Artemis 1 rocket?
The 98-meter Space Launch System (SLS) is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and in this crucial test phase it will fly further than any human-built spacecraft: 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the Moon and 280,000 miles from Earth. .
Image: Each thruster generates more thrust than 14 jumbo jets. Image: NASA Image: Four RS-25 engines also power the rocket. Image: NASA
Its 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch is 13 percent more than the Space Shuttle and 15 percent more than the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo missions.
Each of the two thrusters generates more thrust than 14 commercial four-engine jumbo jets, according to NASA, and will fire for 126 seconds, providing more than 75 percent of the vehicle’s thrust before they break.
It is also powered by four RS-25 engines, and the trip to the Moon takes several days.
When is the release day and how can I watch?
The first Artemis mission will lift off from Kennedy Space Center on August 29, with a two-hour launch window opening at 8.33am (1.33pm UK time) local time.
Broadcast of the launch will begin on NASA’s website at 6.30am local time (11.30am UK time), but there is also a stream available now of the rocket on the launch pad.
Hollywood stars Jack Black, Keke Palmer and Chris Evans will participate in a live broadcast of the launch.
Image: The rocket will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
When was the last time a human was on the moon?
More than 50 years ago: It was Apollo 17 in December 1972, about three and a half years after Neil Armstrong made history with the first moonwalk.
With President Kennedy’s grand goal achieved, the last three Apollo missions were canceled and NASA funding was cut.
The new missions are named after the Greek goddess Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo.