NASA blasts off to the moon with first crew in decades
Marcia Dunn
Updated ,first published
Cape Canaveral, Florida: Four astronauts embarked on a risky flight around the moon, marking humanity’s first lunar journey in more than half a century, a thrilling step forward as NASA moves towards a landing within two years.
The 32-story rocket carrying three Americans and one Canadian lifted off on Wednesday (US time) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where tens of thousands of people gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also blocked surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of Apollo moon photographs in the 60s and 70s. This is the biggest step NASA has ever taken toward establishing a permanent presence on the Moon.
“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of the Artemis team, the courageous spirit of the American people and our partners around the world, and the hopes and dreams of the next generation,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. “Good luck, for God’s sake, Artemis II. Let’s go.”
Artemis II took off from the Florida launch site that sent Apollo explorers to the moon long ago. As the Space Launch System rocket blasted into the early evening sky, a nearly full moon beckoning some 400,000 kilometers away, the handful of people still alive applauded this new generation’s grand adventure.
Five minutes into the flight, Commander Reid Wiseman saw the team’s target: “There’s a beautiful moonrise, we’re heading right for it,” he said from the capsule. On board with him are pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen. It was the most diverse moon crew ever, with the first woman, person of color and non-U.S. citizen to board NASA’s new Orion capsule.
Tensions were high when hydrogen fuel began flowing into the rocket earlier in the day. Dangerous hydrogen leaks broke out during a countdown test earlier this year, causing a long flight delay.
NASA was relieved that no significant hydrogen leak occurred. The launch team loaded more than 2.6 million liters of payload onto the Space Launch System rocket on the pad; This was a smooth operation, paving the way for the Artemis II crew to board the ship.
NASA also had to deal with some issues beforehand, but was able to resolve them and allow the launch to proceed without delay; One of these involved the rocket’s flight termination system failing to receive the commands needed to send a self-destruct signal if it strayed off course and threatened populated areas.
According to NASA, this problem was quickly resolved. Additionally, one of the batteries in the capsule’s launch-abort system needed to be troubleshooted. Launch controllers were scrambling to figure out why the battery temperature was out of limit. After all, it didn’t stop the launch from happening.
Astronauts will stay near home for the first 25 hours of their 10-day test flight, checking the capsule in orbit around Earth before firing the main engine that will send them to the moon.
They won’t stop for a break or orbit the moon, as Apollo 8’s first Moon visitors famously did by reading the book of Genesis on Christmas Eve 1968. But they will become the furthest humans ever when their capsule passes the Moon, continues 4,000 miles further, then makes a U-turn and heads straight home to a splashdown in the Pacific.
Once in high orbit around Earth, the astronauts planned to assume manual control and practice steering their capsule around the rocket’s separated upper stage, venturing to within 10 meters. NASA wants to know how Orion would behave if its self-flying feature failed and pilots had to take control.
Four days later, during a flyby of the Moon, the Moon will appear the size of a basketball held at arm’s length. Astronauts will take turns looking through Orion’s windows with cameras. If the lighting is right, they should see features previously unseen by the human eye. They will also wear eclipse glasses to capture glimpses of the total solar eclipse when the moon briefly blocks the sun from their perspective and the corona emerges.
All of NASA’s lunar plans—an increase in launches over the next few years that will lead to a sustainable moon base for astronauts powered by robotic rovers and drones—are predicated on Artemis II going well.
More than three years have passed since Artemis I, the only time NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule ascended. With no one on board, the Artemis I capsule lacked life support equipment and other essential items needed by the crew, such as a water dispenser and toilet.
These systems now go into space on Artemis II, increasing the risk. That’s why NASA is waiting a full day before dedicating Wiseman and his team to a four-day trip to the moon and a four-day return trip.
“There’s always been a lot going on in this mission,” NASA’s Lori Glaze said before launch. But the teams are even more “energized” now that the space agency has finally increased its launch rate to the Moon and focused a laser focus on surface operations; seismic changes recently announced by new manager Jared Isaacman.
While half the world’s population had not yet been born when NASA’s 12 moonwalkers left their boot prints in the gray moon dust, Artemis offered a new beginning, NASA’s science mission chief Nicky Fox said this week.
“There are a lot of people who don’t remember Apollo. There are generations who weren’t alive when Apollo was launched. This is their Apollo,” said Fox, who was four years old when Apollo 17 brought the era to an end.
NASA is in it for the long haul this time. Unlike Apollo, which focused on speedy flags and footprints in a tight race against the Soviet Union, Artemis strives for a sustainable moon base detailed enough to satisfy even the most die-hard sci-fi fans. But make no mistake: Isaacman and the Trump administration want the next boot prints to be made by Americans, not the Chinese.
Until Isaacman’s schedule change, Artemis III was creeping toward a moon landing closer to 2029.
The billionaire spacewalker boarded a new Artemis III in 2027 so astronauts could practice docking their Orion capsule with the lunar lander in orbit around Earth. The pivotal landing of astronauts near the moon’s south pole has been shifted to Artemis IV in 2028; This was two years before the arrival of the expected Chinese crew.
Like Apollo 13, the astronauts’ only failed moon landing, Artemis II will use a free-return, lunar orbit to return home with the pull of gravity and minimal gas. The gravity of both the Moon and the Earth will provide a large, if not massive, influence to keep Orion in its figure-eight cycle.
The danger is right there for Artemis II. NASA has refused to release its risk assessment for the mission. Executives claim that’s better than 50-50 — the usual odds for a new rocket — but how much more is unclear.
The SLS rocket leaked flammable hydrogen fuel during ground tests; This is a recurring problem that engineers still don’t fully understand. Hydrogen leaks and unrelated helium blockages halted the flight for two months, adding to years of frustrating delays and cost overruns.
Both problems prevented Artemis I, whose capsule returned with extensive heat shield damage. NASA was relieved that Wednesday’s countdown was leak-free, but a few problems have emerged in recent hours.
Charlie Duke, one of the four surviving moonwalkers, said that taking the Soviet Union to the moon made the huge risks acceptable for Apollo.
“I’m cheering you on,” Duke said in a note to Wiseman and his crew before their flight.
At a press conference over the weekend, Koch emphasized how humanity’s path to Mars passes through the Moon, where the point beyond is proven.
“We strongly hope that this mission will be the beginning of an era where everyone, every human being on Earth can look at the moon and also think of it as a destination,” he said.
Glover added: “This is the story of humanity. It’s not black history, it’s not women’s history, it’s becoming human history.”
access point
Take notes directly from our foreign country reporters about things that make headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What’s on in the World Newsletter.
