NASA/Ben Smegelski If all goes well, then on Monday August 29, 2022 we will see the most spectacular rocket launch ever. A two-hour window opens at 8:33 AM. EDT that day for the first launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA’s most powerful rocket ever deployed in over a decade. The Artemis-1 mission will see the SLS take NASA’s Orion crew module and the European Space Agency’s European Services Module (ESM) to the Moon and return on a long-duration mission like no other. The only thing missing will be the humans on this uncrewed test flight, but there’s still plenty to be excited about. Here’s everything you need to know about Artemis-1:
1. It will launch on top of the most powerful rocket since 1973
With 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kg) of thrust, the SLS is the world’s most powerful rocket to launch since NASA’s last Saturn V rocket launched the Skylab space station into Earth orbit in 1973. It is undeniably the most important flight for NASA since the first launch of the space shuttle on April 12, 1981. SLS is controversial because it is so expensive. It is often compared unfavorably to SpaceX’s Starship, which NASA has committed to using as a lunar lander for the Artemis-3 mission in 2025. SpaceX claims Starship will be more powerful, but it has yet to fly successfully. SLS development began in 2014 long before Starship. NASA and SpaceX are working together. It’s not a competition.
2. Snoopy will be responsible for weightlessness
The famous cartoon dog goes to space. We’ll know when the Orion spacecraft reaches space because a little Snoopy doll — dressed in a NASA jumpsuit, of course — will float in front of the onboard cameras. This won’t be Snoopy’s first trip to space, having orbited the Earth in a Space Shuttle in 1990. Also on board is a Shaun the Sheep doll, veteran of multiple parabolic flights. During the Artemis-1 mission, the Orion spacecraft will approach the surface of the Moon and attempt a … [+] new image “Earthrise”. NASA/Liam Yanulis
3. We’ll see “Moon selfies” and a new “Earthrise”
After launch, the spacecraft will enter a low Earth orbit before the rocket’s upper stage is fired to take it into an interlunar orbit. A few days later it will make a flyby of the Moon. Thanks to the Orion spacecraft’s plethora of cameras on the spider-like solar array, we’re expecting a slew of selfies and—almost inevitably—a new version of the famous “Earthrise” captured by the Apollo astronauts.
4. Takes the Moon Rock back to the Moon
When the Orion spacecraft reaches the Moon, it will carry many memorabilia for educational pursuits and posterity in the “Official Flight Kit.” Perhaps the most surprising is a small moon rock from Apollo 11 that was also on the last space shuttle flight in 2011. He will also fly an Apollo 8 commemorative medal, an Apollo 11 mission pin and an Apollo 11 patch .
5. An asteroid hunter will take a ride
Among dozens of experiments and “CubeSats” at launch will be NEA Scout, a shoebox-sized satellite that will travel in a solar sail to a near-Earth asteroid and take high-resolution pictures. The target is 2020 GE, a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) discovered in 2020 that is less than 60 feet/18 meters in size. Asteroids smaller than 330 feet/100 meters have never been explored up close before. Objects like 2020 GE are common and can pose a danger to our planet despite their small size. NEA Scout consists of a small, shoebox-sized CubeSat (top left) and a thin, aluminum-coated solar … [+] cloth (bottom left). After the Artemis I spacecraft is launched, the sail will use sunlight to propel the CubeSat to a small asteroid (as shown in an image, right). NASA
6. If its launch is delayed, it’s a four day wait
If the launch is cleared on Monday, August 29, 2022, the next launch dates are Friday, September 2 and Monday, September 5. Category of eclipses. The Orion solar spacecraft’s orbit must not take it into the path of an eclipse—the Moon’s shadow—for more than 90 minutes, or it will lose power entirely. After September 5, the next launch window is September 19, 2022.
7. Orion will fly farther than any Apollo mission
In 1970, Apollo 13 came within 280,000 miles/450,000 kilometers of Earth while carrying three astronauts (Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise)—the record for humans. Orion will use lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 40,000 miles /64,000 kilometers beyond the Moon—about 30,000 miles /48,000 kilometers farther than Apollo 13. A repeat of Artemis-1, albeit with a smaller duration, Artemis-2 (scheduled for 2024) will see a crew of three astronauts reach the same distance from Earth. I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
