NASA plans to launch Artemis I lunar mission in February 2022

Space.com reports that NASA expects to launch the Artemis I test vehicle without a crew in February 2022

year, and the window for takeoff will open on February 12. The Orion capsule has already been installed on top of the Space Launch System rocket, and the launch now depends largely on ongoing testing.

However, these tests may take some time.The space agency plans to test interfaces, engineering systems, communications and a countdown system. The most important test is the "dress rehearsal" when the Artemis I crew will try to load and unload fuel in the weeks before launch. NASA will not set an exact launch date until after a successful rehearsal, so the final dates won't be known for a while.

Artemis I will send a capsule around the Moon“Orion” to study acceleration, radiation and vibration during travel. But on board “Artemis II” there will already be a human crew. NASA had hoped to land humans on the Moon in 2024, but budget problems and a battle over landing contracts between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have cast that goal into doubt.

Source: space

Illustrations: NASA/Frank Michaux

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