Artemis II mission could launch on February 6 sending astronauts on 685000 mile journey.
Nasa is preparing roll out its most explosive rocket before mission to send astronauts around the moon and back again for first time in over 50 years.
The Artemis II mission scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as 6 February taking its crew on 685000 mile round trip that will end about 10 days later with splashdown in Pacific Ocean.
The flight will mark only second test of Nasa Space Launch System SLS rocket and first with crew onboard.
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The four astronauts will live and work in Orion capsule testing life support and communication system and practising docking manoeuvre.
Its a big deal said David Parker ex head of UK Space Agency and visiting professor at University of Southhampton.
“It is a move towards what we in space world always dreamed of the sustained human and robotic exploration of moon and one day on to Mars”
Some paint the return to moon as second space race with USA contesting agains Chine. which hopes to put own boot on moon by 2030.
I shall be damned if chinese beat Nasa or beat America back to moon. Sean Duff Nasa ex acting administrator said in September.
We are going to win.
The flight will mark only second test of Nasa Space Launch System SLS rocket and first with crew onboard.
The four astronauts will live and work in Orion capsule testing life support and communication system and practising docking manoeuvres.
Jared Isaacman the billionaire private astronaut sworn in as Nasa administrator in December said on Thursday the mission was probable one of most important human spaceflight mission in last half century.
It will be second time in space for three Nasa astronauts. Reid Wiseman Victor Glover and Christina Koch and first for Jeremy Hansen a Canadian astronaut Koch will become first lady and Glover the first person of colour to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The astronauts will not land on moon or enter lunar orbit but will be first to travel around moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
When burned through the rocket engines it produces enough thrust to fly to moon at speed of up to 24500 mph.
Over 50 year after humans went to moon it is time to get excited again. Every rocket launch is nail biter Parker said.
We are putting astronauts on a rocket and flown only once before so of course it is a nail biter.
For all Nasa preparations and astronaut expensive training the mission could throw some stunning wonders.
This is test flight and there are things that are going to be unexpected said Jeff Radigan Artemis II lead flight director.
An ultimate push from Orion Europe service module will send the crew to moon.
The astronauts will travel over 230000 miles from Earth passing around far side of moon before looping back in mega figure of eight trajectory.
During the travel the crew will practise emergency procedures and test Orion radiation shelter designed to save them from harmful solar flares.
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Nasa crawler transporter 2 and huge tracked vehicle will start lugging the 5000 tonne rocket and spacecraft from vehicle assembly building to launchpad.
The four mile journey can take up to 12 hours.
NASA will work through a preflight checklist.
It all goes to plan engineers will move on to wet dress rehearsal loading rocket with over 700,000 gallons of propellant conducting a trial countdown and demonstrating that they can remove propellant safely.
Any mega problems would require rocket to be rolled back to vehicle assembly building for repairs.
In latest days, technicians have been working on bent cable in rocket flight termination system a faulty valve used to pressurise the Orion capsule and leaks in instruments that pumps oxygen into spacecraft.
The complete process must go smoothly for mission to launch on 6 February.
If technical problems or bad weather involve Nasa identified 14 other dates to launch before mid April.
After liftoff the crew will loop twice around Earth. Before moving to moon the Orion capsule will separate from rocket upper stage.
The astronauts will fly the spacecraft manually using cameras and view outside the window to approach and retreat the jettisoned stage.
This will give Nasa sense of how Orion handles for future Artemis missions where crew will dock and undock in lunar orbit.
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