The countdown clock for the launch of Artemis 1, a test flight around the moon without crew, began on Saturday
The American space agency is preparing to launch its giant new Moon rocket as the countdown to the lift-off of the Space Launch System approaches. Space Launch System, or SLS, is NASA’s most powerful rocket ever developed. In addition, SLS will outline NASA’s Artemis project, an effort to return people to the moon after more than 50 years.
The countdown clock for the launch of Artemis 1, a test flight around the moon without crew, began on Saturday. This is an ambitious program to explore the possibility of humans living on the moon and on Mars for the first time in 50 years.#NASA#Moon#Mars#ArtemisLaunchpic.twitter.com/bRw7cHEkFM
At 10:23 a.m. Saturday, NASA launched its countdown clock as the rocket’s launch from Florida was just under 48 hours away. The space agency plans to land a squad on the moon by 2025 as part of the historic 42-day trip in an Orion capsule, which will travel 1.3 million miles to orbit the moon. This voyage will provide data that will help it plan its first crewed moon landing by then.
During the mission, Artemis 1 will sail beyond the Earth’s atmosphere to the farthest distance any spacecraft designed for human use has gone. The craft will carry three high-tech mannequins to study how deep space travel will impact humans. Orion spacecraft has an 8,8 million-pound thrust capacity and a 212-foot core stage, making it NASA’s most powerful ever design. The launch is scheduled for between 8:33 and 10:33 on Monday morning.
Cost to Develop Rocket
An additional $4.1 billion is spent per launch, and the $20 billion is spent on developing the rocket. Humans have been preparing to return to the moon for decades, but funding and other obstacles have hampered the process. The intent to land humans on the moon had been initially planned for 2024, but NASA delayed it after spending around $2 billion more than expected. So instead, as part of NASA’s $2.9 billion contract with SpaceX, it will use SpaceX’s Starship to land on the moon for the Artemis 3 mission.
NASA to Lift-off Historic Artemis from Florida Source: Web
Kathryn Hambleton, the spokesperson of NASA, described the mission as a “flight test that will lay the groundwork for human exploration of deeper space & reveal NASA’s ability to extend human presence beyond the moon.” Several astronauts will be positioned around the moon in orbit in 2024 following the launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. The primary human landing on the moon since the final Apollo mission in 1972 is planned for the highly anticipated Artemis 3 mission.
It has been said that the Artemis program will generate tens of thousands of jobs, create a “long-term presence on the moon,” and provide an understanding of how to eventually “build a community” on Mars and provide astronomical data. The Artemis program will also put a woman and a person of color on the moon.
Florida Weather
According to forecasts from US Space Force meteorologists, fair weather is likely during the launch window of two hours beginning on Saturday afternoon. However, in addition to rain, NASA is concerned that a delay may force the launch into one of two backup windows on Friday, 2nd September, or Monday, 5th September. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), eighty percent of the likelihood of precipitation is showers and thunderstorms on Monday. At this time of year, Florida State is experiencing very dynamic weather, with electrical storms frequently passing over the spaceport.
