Nasa is targeting early March to launch a crew around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, in what would be humankind’s furthest trip into space.
The Artemis II mission will see four astronauts embark on a 10-day journey around the far side of the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for a future lunar landing.
Nasa set the earliest launch date of March 6 (early on March 7 in the UK) following a successful “wet dress rehearsal” – a critical pre-launch test where the rocket is filled with fuel and taken through the countdown sequence.
It was the Artemis team’s second attempt at a practice run at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“Every night I look up at the Moon and I see it and I get real excited because I can feel she’s calling us and we’re ready,” Nasa’s Lori Glaze told a news conference on Friday.
“The excitement for Artemis II is really, really starting to build, we can really start to feel it. It’s coming.”
The first rehearsal, which took place at the beginning of February, ended early because of a hydrogen fuel leak at the launch pad.
Glaze said issues including with seals and filters had now been remedied.
“Yesterday we were able to fully tank the SLS rocket within the planned time line […] we also succesfully demonstrated the launch countdown,” she said.
Three Americans – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch – and one Canadian, Jeremy Hansen, make up the Artemis II crew.
Glaze said the crew were excited following the successful rehearsal and would go into quarantine later on Friday.
They’ll begin their journey on Nasa’s mega Moon rocket: the 98m-tall (322ft) Space Launch System, or SLS.
It’s only flown once before in November 2022 for the Artemis I mission, but this was with no people onboard.
The crew will be strapped into the Orion capsule, which is located at the top of the rocket.
The inside of their spacecraft is about the size of a minibus, and it’s where the four will live, eat, work and sleep during the 10-day mission.
The first day of their journey will be spent in orbit around the Earth, then if all systems are working well, the astronauts will head towards the Moon.
The voyage takes about four days, and the crew will travel around the far side of the Moon, which is the side we never see from Earth.
They’ll be at a distance of 6,500-9,500km (4,000 to 6,000 miles) above the lunar surface, and will have several hours dedicated to studying and taking images of the Moon.
After the fly by, the astronauts will begin their four-day journey home. They will end the mission with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission, if successful, will pave the way for Artemis III, which will see astronauts set foot on the lunar surface.
The last time humans visited the Moon was in 1972 for the Apollo 17 mission.
Nasa says the landing will happen by 2028, but this is a very ambitious timescale.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has a contract to build the lander for Artemis III – which will be flown to the Moon on a SpaceX Starship rocket. But delays to the Starship rocket have led Nasa to ask SpaceX for a new streamlined plan to speed a return to the Moon.
Nasa has also asked rival company Blue Origin – which is owned by Jeff Bezos – to come up with an accelerated lunar plan for Artemis III.
As the tech billionaires battle it out, the US is under pressure to return to the Moon. China is aiming for a lunar landing by 2030, and has been making steady progress towards this.
Both nations are planning to land at the Moon’s south pole – and are competing for the best spots to build their lunar bases.
By BBC News
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