NASA’s Artemis I mission is targeted to launch no earlier than August 29, 2022. The two-hour launch window opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT (5:33 a.m. PDT) on Monday, August 29.
Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s new deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions. It will be an uncrewed flight test 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 spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. It will travel 280,000 miles (450,000 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a four to six-week mission. During the mission, Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station. It will return home faster and hotter than ever before.
With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. It will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. NASA will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, NASA will use what they learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.
We’re going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis Generation. While maintaining American leadership in exploration, we will build a global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of all.
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