NASA has rescheduled for this Saturday the liftoff of the Artemis I mission, which will send an unmanned Orion spacecraft on an SLS rocket to orbit the Moon and then back to Earth.
The rocket launch was originally scheduled for Monday, but a series of technical failures forced it to be postponed.
Engineers announced Tuesday that they will have a two-hour window of opportunity for liftoff Saturday after 2:17 pm ET.
The SLS rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft out of Earth's orbit and then drop back into the ocean, leaving the capsule alone on its journey to the Moon.
There, Orion will deploy some small satellites and stay in orbit for a while before returning to the planet.
Four problems with the rocket and one with the weather forced the suspension of the launch of Artemis I
Aug. 29, 202202:20
[Everything you need to know about the historic Artemis mission to the Moon]
NASA's goal is to return humans to the Moon, after 50 years of the Apollo missions that did so.
If successful, a woman and a black man astronauts will step on the lunar surface for the first time.
The first step of the mission is to examine the operation of the Orion ship without people to ensure that it will be a safe trip for all the crew and that they will be able to return to Earth.
The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on Mobile Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 30, 2022. Joel Kowsky / AP
Three test dummies will be strapped into the capsule, which has more than 1,000 sensors to feel like a human being, in particular a woman, to measure vibration, acceleration and radiation, one of the greatest dangers to humans in deep space.
In 2024, Artemis II will carry a crew aboard Orion to orbit the Moon and, if all goes according to plan, in 2025 humans will land again with the launch of Artemis III, which will use a Starship rocket from the private company SpaceX.
Among the places NASA wants to explore are the moon's south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are thought to harbor frozen water that could be used by future crews.
NASA delays the launch of the historic Artemis I mission due to technical problems
Aug. 29, 202201:20
NASA has said that unlike the Apollo missions that landed the first humans on the Moon amid intense competition with the Soviet Union and were later canceled forever, Artemis plans to usher in a new era of space exploration. and a sustained presence in the Earth's natural satellite that will also integrate private initiative.
[This is how the powerful rocket that will launch the ship that will return to the Moon will work]
Thus, it is planned that there will be a permanent base on the Moon and a space station orbiting it with a crew at all times.
The project also contemplates using natural resources available on the Moon such as ice and lunar soil to produce food, water and fuel.
Which will give rise to an economy in space.