NASA delivers Artemis II rocket to Florida launch pad for historic moon mission
A historic lunar mission moved closer to reality today as NASA launched a rocket designed for the first human lunar expedition in more than 50 years.
The Artemis II rocket has begun its journey to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The 10-day manned mission, scheduled to begin as early as February 6, will be the first mission to orbit the moon and return to Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972.
NASA’s next Artemis III mission will return humans to the lunar surface in 2027.
The space agency said Artemis “will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discoveries, economic benefits, and to lay the groundwork for the first human missions to Mars.”
The crawler-carrier 2 vehicle carried the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft along a 6-kilometer route from the assembly building to the launch pad; This journey will take up to 12 hours.
Once at the launch pad, engineers will spend the next few days preparing SLS and Orion for a dry run test that involves loading all propellants into the rocket.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the mission would fulfill “a promise to the American people that we would return to the moon.”
Image: In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 17, NASA begins launching the Artemis II rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Next month it will be used in the first manned mission to the Moon since 1972.
Image: The rocket will propel a crew of four, including three NASA astronauts and one astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency, out of Earth’s atmosphere on February 6.
From LR: Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen stands next to NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman. Wiseman will also serve as the mission’s commander. Group of four addresses reporters with rocket and spacecraft behind them
Isaacman said the moon would be an ‘excellent testing ground’ for autonomous capabilities on spacecraft.
‘We are talking about building a moon base. “It’s now the first day of the Moon base, it won’t one day look like this glass-enclosed dome city that we can imagine,” the billionaire entrepreneur said.
‘This would certainly be the ideal end state. But there are probably a lot of rovers floating around, a lot of autonomous rovers experimenting with mining, or some mining capabilities starting up.
‘Naturally you will add more autonomy to our robotic missions in terms of what we want to achieve in space.
‘We’re currently looking at a mission to Venus that might include some AI capabilities.
‘So this is the way we’re going to go. But let me tell you, if people are on a spaceship, they will always have a vote, they will always have a say in this.’
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch will lead the Artemis II crew, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman will serve as the mission’s commander.
Hansen said the mission was ‘good for humanity’, adding that he had previously considered the Moon ‘extraordinary’.
Image: Artemis II rocket stands in the Vehicle Assembly Building before being moved
Pictured: The Orion spacecraft rests on top of the Artemis II rocket. Spacecraft will carry astronauts to and from the moon
Pictured: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stands with four astronauts during the press conference
The former Canadian fighter pilot added: ‘But I look at it more now. And since there are people flying on the far side, I think others will join us in looking at the moon more.’
Koch emphasized how important the ability to adapt is for an astronaut; especially since no one has ever been to the moon and decades have passed since a similar mission was undertaken.
“The idea is, yes, you train and prepare for anything, but the most important thing is that you’re ready to take on things that you’re not prepared for,” Koch said.
‘The Moon is like a witness plaque to everything that has happened to the Earth, but has since been erased by our weathering processes, tectonic processes and other geological processes.
‘We can actually learn more about the formation of the solar system, maybe learn more about how planets form around other stars, start by studying the moon, we can learn more about the possibility of life there.’
At the end of the mission, Orion will land in the Pacific Ocean, and the spacecraft and its crew will be recovered with the help of the US Navy.
