Artemis 1 mission launch: NASA's new moon rocket blasts off on debut flight

Washington, Nov 16: NASA on Wednesday launched Artemis I mission to the moon rocket on a test flight for the first time, ushering in a new era of exploration for the space agency. The mission is a first step toward Artemis I, which is going to result in the first human missions to the Moon in the 21st century and the first since 1972.

On Tuesday late night, NASA managed to plug a fuel leak while fuelling its new moon rocket for a middle-of-the-night launch, its third try to put an empty capsule around the moon for the first time in 50 years.

Hydrogen sprouted from a valve on the launch pad - a different location than leaks during previous launch attempts. Two technicians and a safety official rushed into the blast zone to tighten the valve, with emergency rescue workers on standby.

The debut of the Space Launch System rocket, known as SLS, had three test dummies but no astronauts inside the crew capsule on top, which NASA hoped to put into lunar orbit. If successful, it will be the first capsule to fly to the moon since NASA's Apollo program 50 years ago.

The USD 4.1 billion test flight is the opening shot in NASA's Artemis moon-exploration program, named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. Astronauts could strap in as soon as 2024 for a lap around the moon and actually attempt a lunar landing in 2025.

What's the goal of the Artemis project?

This uncrewed launch - called Artemis I - is expected to pave the way for NASA to one day send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s.

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.