Launch of NASA’s mission to the Moon delayed

This Monday the first takeoff attempt from Cape Canaveral of the mission to the Moon Artemis I was scheduled to begin. But finally it will not happen today: NASA has delayed the launch takeoff, which was to occur at 8:33 local time (14:33 in Spain ), and is now being held on hold due to technical glitches. The trip will be the beginning of a new era of space exploration that aims to establish a permanent presence on the Moon and send a crew to Mars.

The launch of #Artemis I is no longer happening today as teams work through an issue with an engine bleed. Teams will continue to gather data, and we will keep you posted on the timing of the next launch attempt. https://t.co/tQ0lp6Ruhv pic.twitter.com/u6Uiim2mom

— NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2022

The mighty SLS rocket with the Orion capsule on its apex sits on standby on pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center awaiting further guidance from mission managers.

NASA had previously announced that in the event that this historic mission does not take off today, which involves a return to the Earth satellite after almost half a century, it handles next September 2 and 5 as the second and third tentative dates.

round trip to the moon

This first Artemis mission will test NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its European service module during a round trip to the Moon. It will be a six week trip. The spacecraft will enter lunar orbit, using the Moon’s gravity to gain speed and propel itself nearly half a million kilometers from Earth, farther than any human-capable spacecraft has ever traveled.

This trip will serve as a test for the Orion spacecraft and its SLS rocket before crewed flights to the Moon. In this case, there will be no crew aboard Orion, and the ship will be controlled by teams here on Earth. On the second Artemis mission, however, four astronauts will travel around the Moon on a flyby of our natural satellite.

“Artemis is the first step in the next era of human exploration. Together with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars”, as explained by the US space agency.

NASA has identified thirteen candidate regions for the next one moon landing human with the program. Each region contains multiple potential landing sites for Artemis III, which will be the first of a series of missions to bring crews to the surface of the Moon, including the first woman and the first African-American.