In the same week that NASA announced the dates planned for the inaugural launch of its mega moon rocket, the agency has released a cinematic trailer (below) to spread the word about the mission.
The long-awaited Artemis I mission, scheduled to take place on August 29, will usher in a new era of human space exploration that will involve the return of astronauts to the lunar surface after a 50-year absence. NASA’s Artemis program also aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and use it as a springboard for the first manned mission to Mars.
Short and sweet, NASA’s Artemis: Launching to the Moon trailer depicts the mighty Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launching the Orion capsule into space. Artemis I will involve sending Orion on a flyby of the Moon before bringing the spacecraft home.
“Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket, and ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” NASA says in the notes accompanying the video. “The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an unmanned flight test that will provide a foundation for human exploration of deep space and demonstrate our commitment and ability to extend the human on the moon and beyond”.
The long-awaited Artemis I mission will see Orion fly further than any human-built spacecraft has ever flown, with the capsule set to travel 280,000 miles from Earth and thousands of miles beyond the Moon during a mission that will last up to six weeks.
“Orion will stay in space longer than any spacecraft has done for astronauts without docking at a space station, and will return home faster and hotter than ever before,” NASA said.
If the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft perform as expected during the Artemis I mission, then Artemis II, currently scheduled for 2024, will fly the same route but with astronauts on board. A successful crewed flight will pave the way for Artemis III, possibly in 2025, which will put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface.
And then, as it works to build a habitable base on the lunar surface, NASA will begin to focus more on its most daring manned mission since the first lunar landings five decades ago: an astronaut mission to Mars intended for late the 2030s.
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