Team Artemis is targeting its first two-hour launch window from 8:33am. ET to 10:33 a.m. ET on Monday, August 29. There are backup launch windows on September 2nd and September 5th. The rocket stack arrived at the launch site on August 17 after leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building following a 4-mile (6.4 km) ride on one of NASA’s giant Apollo-era crawlers from the assembly building to the launch site – – just like the shuttle missions and the Apollo Saturn V rockets once did. The unmanned Artemis I will launch on a mission that crosses the moon and returns to Earth. Once launched, the spacecraft will reach a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, traveling 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) over 42 days. Artemis I will sink into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on October 10. Orion’s return will be fast and hotter than any spacecraft has ever experienced on its way back to Earth. The Orion spacecraft will travel farther than any human-built spacecraft has ever flown, reaching 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the far side of the moon, according to NASA. There are no people on board, but Orion will carry 120 pounds (54.4 kg) of memorabilia, including toys, Apollo 11 artifacts and three mannequins. In command of Orion will be Commander Moonikin Campos, a suiting mannequin that can collect data on what future human crews might experience on a lunar journey. The mannequin will wear the new Orion Crew Survival System suit designed for astronauts to wear during launch and re-entry. The suit has two radiation sensors. That mission will launch NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface by 2025 — and eventually pave the way for human exploration of Mars. Artemis I will also conduct a series of science experiments, some of which will be installed once the rocket and spacecraft reach the launch site.
