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Rabat – NASA, the USA’s space exploration and aerospace research agency, has delayed the launch of its anticipated Artemis moon mission, which was scheduled to launch on Monday morning.
An issue with an engine caused the launch to be postponed to the next possible launch opportunity on Friday, September 2.
The launch of Artemis I was supposed to be the first stage of NASA’s new moon exploration program, with the goal of ultimately putting humans on the moon again, and for a long-term presence this time.
NASA is aiming to send astronauts for a lap around the moon’s orbit in 2024, and land two people on the moon’s surface by the end of 2025.
The unmanned Orion spacecraft will be transported to the moon by NASA’s most powerful rocket ever, in a trip that will take twice as long as usual astronaut missions, with the intent being to test and tax all systems.
The flight to the moon could take two weeks, after which the Orion capsule, which is capable of carrying four crew members, will stay in the moon’s orbit for nearly 20 days.
After another 20 day return trip, the vehicle will face its last test as it enters the earth’s atmosphere and burns up, testing the heat shield.
The taxing test is designed to also take into account future planned missions to Mars. The Artemis mission is supposed to be the first step in a sustained human exploration program to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, according to NASA.
In addition to testing the equipment, NASA also hopes to conduct some unmanned research on the moon with small satellites.
This program is the first in more than 50 years to attempt to land humans on the moon, since the Apollo missions in the late sixties and early seventies, which still stand as some of the greatest achievements in space exploration.
