Artemis 1 launch: NASA to launch new moon rocket today: Where to watch this event?

Washington, Sep 03: NASA is again preparing to launch its Artemis 1 mission to the moon rocket on a test flight on a long-awaited mission to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule on a 42-day trip. The US space agency had postponed the launch of Artemis 1 after engine trouble halted the first countdown this week.

The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket remains on its pad at Kennedy Space Center, with an empty crew capsule on top. It's the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA.

The launch window will open at 2:17 pm (ET) on Saturday. For India, this means around 11.47 pm. As per NASA, the broadcast will begin on Saturday at 12:15 pm (ET) on Twitter, YouTube, Twitch and Facebook handles of the US space agency. The rocket will blast off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B in Florida.

It's the first of three Artemis missions planned; Artemis II is expected to carry four crew members in 2024, while Artemis III is expected to send two astronauts to the moon in 2025 or later.

Where to watch Artemis-1 launch to the moon?

You can track all the development related to the maiden launch of NASA's Artemis project on the official website of the US space agency or its social media handles. Several online options like NASA TV, NASA official YouTube channel are available for space fans to watch the Artemis 1 launch live event. The live coverage will begin at 9:45 pm (IST) One can watch on any of the following feeds:

NASA's YouTube channel

• The NASA app
• NASA's Website
• The KSC YouTube channel

What's the goal of the Artemis project?

The mission is a first step toward Artemis 3, which is going to result in the first human missions to the Moon in the 21st century and the first since 1972. Artemis 1 is an uncrewed test flight.

Its primary goal is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion's heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

Artemis I will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come. The primary goals for Artemis I are to demonstrate Orion's systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery prior to the first flight with crew on Artemis II.