NASA has set a new date for the launch of Artemis I to the Moon

The Container He assured that he would try Launching its massive SLS rocket onto the Moon again on November 14, alternate dates in the same week in case of any inconvenience on that day. The launch of the unmanned mission Artemis 1, Aimed to pave the way for a future trip for astronauts to the Moon, it had to be suspended three times, twice for technical reasons and once for meteorological reasons.

The last release date was September 27, but It had to be postponed due to the announced Hurricane Ian’s arrival in Florida That caused more than a hundred deaths and millions of dollars in damages in this southern state. The missile, worth more than $4 billion, had to be moved from the platform to the hangar to protect it from damage. Two more attempts were suspended on August 29 and September 3, in the first case due to a temperature sensor malfunction and in the second due to Leaks in liquid hydrogen tanks.

Inspections and analyzes last week confirmed that To prepare the rocket requires minimal work and the spacecraft to launch from platform 39B at Kennedy Space Center,” they explained from the US Space Agency through their blog. The 69-minute launch window will open in 01.07 am Argentina time (04.07 GMT) on November 14th, The US space agency announced. The missile, worth more than $4 billion, had to be moved from the platform to the hangar to protect it from damage.

The crews will perform standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork in the thermal protection system and recharge or replace the missile batteries., various secondary payloads, and flight termination system. The agency plans to return the rocket to the launch pad on Friday, November 4.

NASA asked for backup launch opportunities for Wednesday, November 16 and Saturday, November 19 With take-off windows of two hours. If the rocket is launched on November 14, the 25-and-a-half-day mission will end on December 9 with the Orion spacecraft plunging into the Pacific Ocean.

The goal of the first Artemis mission is to Testing capabilities of the SLS and Orion spacecraft before a manned flight planned in principle in 2024, Which will be followed by the third time that American astronauts for the first time since 1972, including a woman and a person of color, set foot on the moon. The Artemis program wants to lay the foundation for a long-term existence of the Moon and serve as a springboard for sending astronauts to Mars.

space mission

The mission, planned for more than a decade, is highly symbolic for NASA, as it will test a new rocket called Space Launch System (SLS) o New Space Launch System A space capsule called Orion It is larger than Apollo and has the capacity to carry up to 4 astronauts instead of the three launched five decades ago.

The goal of the flight, which will last six weeks and has been christened Artemis 1, is to test the SLS system and the crew’s Orion capsule located at the tip of the rocket. But the ultimate goal of this new technology is to return humans to the Moon and, within the next decade, to Mars. “Let’s stress it out and test it. We’re going to do things we would never do with a crew on board to try to make it as safe as possible,” said Bill Nelson, Administrator of NASA.

If all goes well, in 2024 a new launch is scheduled by NASA, now with astronauts. Artemis II’s voyage will orbit the moon It will prove that astronauts will be able to withstand the long journey that takes several weeks. Finally, in 2025, Artemis III will land on the moonThe crew will stand on our natural satellite with the intention of staying there for several days with the goal of establishing a permanent colony in the coming years.

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