CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new moon rocket is set to debut next week in a high-stakes test flight before astronauts get on top and Wake Up CBUS was able to speak with one of the scientists working on the mission.
NASA Program Scientist Dr. Sarah Noble said Artemis 1 is the first of several missions that are set to bring mankind back to the moon’s surface.
Artemis 1, the first to launch in a three-part series, is the most powerful rocket ever made to take an uncrewed Orion capsule to the moon’s orbit and back.
This is the first series of complex missions that will eventually bring the first woman and person of color to the moon.
“Now with Artemis, we are actually going to an entirely new part of the moon,” Noble said
After next week's launch to the moon, a second test flight will send four astronauts around the moon and back, perhaps as early as 2024. A year or so later, NASA aims to send another four up, with two of them touching down at the lunar south pole.
“This is the dawn of a new era of lunar exploration,” Noble said. “We are going to go to stay this time. We’re going to build a sustainable future on the moon."
Liftoff for Artemis 1 is set for Monday morning from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The official countdown starts Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
There is currently a 70% chance of favorable weather in Cape Canaveral come Monday's launch. If weather conditions change and worsen, Artemis 1 will then launch on Sept. 5.