NASA Launches Artemis 1 Mission, Paving Way for Astronauts' Return to the Moon

Jason Duaine Hahn
·3 min read
NASA Launches Artemis 1 Mission, Paving Way for Astronauts' Return to the Moon

After multiple delays, NASA's mission to the moon is finally underway.

Early Wednesday, NASA launched the Artemis I mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, over two months after its initial attempt was scrubbed due to engine issues. Days later, the unmanned flight test was delayed again due to a fuel leak. The anticipation of Hurricane Ian caused an additional delay.

At the heart of the mission are the Orion, NASA's reusable spacecraft, and the agency's Space Launch System (SLS), the first rocket in half a century designed to fly astronauts to the moon.

Three test dummies were onboard as the rocket began its debut flight, the AP reported.

According to NASA, the Orion and SLS will fly 280,000 miles from Earth, and thousands of miles past the moon, during a six-week journey. The spacecraft is expected to make splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 9.

A full Moon is in view from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher, are being prepared for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for launch. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and using the Moon as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Ben Smegelsky/NASA

Once the Orion reaches the moon, the spacecraft will stay in orbit for about six days to collect data and allow mission controllers to test the spacecraft's performance. It will then set a path back to Earth.

During this time, the spacecraft will have remained in space "longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before," NASA said on its website.

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Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. During this flight, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and travel thousands of miles beyond the Moon, farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown, over the course of about a three-week mission.

Liam Yanulis/NASA

Artemis 1 is the first of a series of missions planned by NASA in the coming years to expand "human existence to the moon and beyond," per the space agency.

The Artemis mission was named after the Greek goddess of the moon, who is also the twin sister of Apollo, the god of sun and light. Apollo was also the name given to the series of missions that eventually led to astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins reaching the moon in 1969.

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For the second Artemis mission, NASA plans to send astronauts on a different trajectory than the current mission with the goal of testing "Orion's critical systems with humans aboard," according to their website.

In future missions, NASA plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, which could happen as soon as 2025, per National Geographic. These missions would be the first time NASA sent humans to the moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

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The objective of the Artemis missions is to create a long-term, sustainable lunar presence — while also serving as a foundation to eventually send astronauts to Mars, in addition to the moon.

Coverage of the Artemis I space launch was shown on NASA's website, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion, Theta.TV, and NASA's App.