The official countdown to NASA’s new Moon launch will begin soon, marking the next chapter in returning humans to the Moon. The Moon rocket flight is the first in the space agency’s Artemis program and will be uncrewed on this mission. However, there will be astronauts on board for subsequent missions, with the first crewed space flight scheduled for 2024. The Artemis 1 mission will see the first launch of the new 322-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which the agency says is the world’s most powerful rocket to date. It will carry the Orion capsule, powered by the European Service Module (ESM) built by Airbus, into lunar orbit. The launch has a two-hour window beginning at 1:33 p.m. BST (08:33 EST) on Monday, August 29 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s new moon mission could land humans on the moon as early as 2025 for the first time in half a century, ITV News’ Martha Fairlie reports. The mission duration is 42 days, 3 hours, 20 minutes and will travel a total of 1.3 million miles before launching on October 10. Space enthusiasts can watch the launch on NASA’s website live starting at 5 p.m. BST (12 p.m. ET) on Monday, August 29 or on NASA TV, which is streaming live on YouTube. If bad weather or other delays prevent traffic, the next windows will be September 2nd and September 5th. Cameras inside and outside Orion will then transmit photos and footage of the mission back to earth as the rocket begins its journey to the moon. Stars such as Jack Black, Chris Evans, Keke Palmer and Josh Groban will appear on the live stream. Watch the launch of Artemis 1 on Monday, August 29 live on the official NASA TV live stream here: NASA expects the first Artemis astronauts to land on the Moon in 2025. Airbus engineer Sian Cleaver is ESM’s industrial director and dreamed of human spaceflight as a child before taking a master’s degree in physics and astronomy from Durham University. She said: “I’m ridiculously excited and I think everyone in the team is. The Artemis 1 mission will begin a course to the moon on a journey expected to last up to 42 days. Credit: PA Graphics “There are years and years of labor of love in this project. “This is the first time we will have seen one of our European service units fly into space and go to the Moon. “I think a lot of us couldn’t believe it – now we have the opportunity to release on the 29th. The rocket will be uncrewed for the August mission. Credit: PA Graphics “Now, I think it’s really sinking in that this is reality, this is happening, and it’s really going to start this whole new chapter of space exploration and going to the Moon. “We’re on the verge of something really exciting now.” Ms Cleaver explained that the last time humans went to the Moon – around 50 years ago – it was to prove it could be done, while the new mission is to prove humans can go there for longer and more sustainable. Want a quick and special update on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know… It will also assess whether any infrastructure can be built on and around the Moon, allowing humans to survive on another planetary body. Now in her 30s, Ms Cleaver first visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida when she was just eight years old. Her role in building ESM included making sure all the equipment and subsystems came together at just the right time. Speaking about her presence at the launch, she said: “I’m so excited to be there. “It will be, for me personally, a really special moment to be back there after all this time. And now, to actually work in the space industry, I still haven’t realized that I’ve achieved something that I’ve wanted to do since I was about 15 years old.” He added: “It’s pretty amazing that even at this stage in my career – 10 years at Airbus – I’m actually working on my dream mission.” Sian Cleaver as a child, with her sister at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: left The UK is part of the Artemis programme, contributing to the Lunar Gateway – a space station currently being developed with the European Space Agency – working with the US, Europe, Canada and Japan. The Artemis mission will be monitored in the UK from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall. Libby Jackson, director of exploration science at the UK Space Agency, said: “The first launch of the Artemis 1 SLS rocket is an important step for the global space community as we prepare to return humans to the Moon. “The Artemis program marks the next chapter in human space exploration, and we look forward to continuing to participate as it comes to life.”
