Artemis-I set to launch on August 29, NASA's first mission to take humans back to moon

WASHINGTON: The unmanned mission of Artemis, NASA's dream project to take humans back on the moon after half a century, is set to begin today as the first rehearsal.

Artemis-1 will lift off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center at 6:03 PM IST.

The SLS (Space Launch System), the world's most powerful rocket developed by NASA as the successor to the Space Shuttles, is used for the mission. The rocket will place the four-passenger Orion spacecraft (crew module) into lunar orbit.

The countdown to the launch started at 9.53 am local time on Saturday. If the launch doesn't take place today then it is expected to be on September 2 or 5. The total cost is Rs.2 lakh crore.

The mission is a precursor to landing travelers, including a woman, on the moon's south pole in 2025. The second Artemis will leave with travelers in 2024, but will return after orbiting the moon without landing.

Artemis - I

• Main components - SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft
• Objectives- Took man to the moon. Establish a base camp on the moon for Mars exploration and a permanent station for travelers in lunar orbit
• Duration - 42 days, 3 hours, 20 minutes

SLS

• The most powerful rocket in the world
• Height - 322 feet

Orion spacecraft

• Main Components – Crew Module, Service Module
• Height - 26 feet
• It will orbit within 95 km of the moon
• Three human robots (humanoid) instead of the travelers-Commander Moonikin Campos, Helga and Zohar
• Moonikin will be wearing a space suit
• More than five thousand sensors on robots
• Amazon's modern Alexa voice assistant
• Anyone can call Alexa and ask for live updates
• Many toys will fly in the spacecraft. This is to attract children to space research.
• It will return to Pacific Ocean on October 10.