Spectators watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 16.
Photo:
jim watson/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Humanity gazed upward again early Wednesday morning. Four months after the release of the James Webb Space Telescope’s first images, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched Artemis I, the most powerful rocket ever.
Artemis I is the first uncrewed test flight in a series of increasingly complex missions, marking the dawn of a new era of human exploration of the moon. We’ll use the moon—only four days away from Earth—to develop the technology and science needed to prepare humans for our next giant leap: a monthslong human journey to Mars to look for signs of life, past or present. Exploration is in our DNA—it’s central to our human character.
Exploring Mars will also help scientists learn about our own planet’s climate, history and evolution. The dry, rocky freezing planet we know today might once have been like our own. NASA has been exploring Mars with rovers and landers since 1971. We’ve learned an incredible amount about the planet’s climate and composition, in addition to the flash floods, meteors and volcanoes that made their mark on the surface. But human beings are magnitudes more efficient at collecting and analyzing samples than even our most advanced robotic explorers.
Artemis I is the first integrated test of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, or SLS, and Orion spacecraft. During this mission, we’ll stress and test the systems in a way that we’d never attempt with humans to make sure they’re as safe as possible for our astronauts. Artemis I will last more than 25 days from launch to splashdown. The module that provides the power, oxygen, water and other support to the Orion spacecraft is built for a 21-day mission. We’re going to push the edge of the envelope.
Orion will fly farther than any human spacecraft has ever flown. After a journey around the moon, it will return…
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