NASA reveals the first stage of the SLS rocket for the Artemis II mission, which will send people on a trip around the moon on the Orion spacecraft

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the end

assembly of the first stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. It will be used as part of the second lunar mission, Artemis II.

What is known

SLS is the most powerful rocket in the world, although it is already quitethis title could soon go to the SpaceX Starship with its Super Heavy booster, which includes 33 Raptor engines. The height of the first stage is 65 meters and the diameter is 8.4 meters.

It will include four modernizedRS-25 engines, which were once used in the Space Shuttle. The fuel here is liquid hydrogen, and liquid oxygen has taken on the role of the oxidizer.

NASA engineers attached the propulsion section tothe rest of the SLS first stage. The propulsion section includes hundreds of sensors and a large number of wires, the total length of which is several kilometers. The next step is to install the RS-25 motors.

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Artemis II will take place in 2024.As part of the mission, three US astronauts and one Canadian astronaut will fly around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and return to Earth. If all goes according to plan, the first moon landing since 1972 will take place in 2025.

As part of the Artemis III mission, astronauts will fly toMoon on the Orion, but then two of them will transfer to the Starship spacecraft and go to the surface of the satellite. By the way, the SpaceX ship will not return to Earth, as well as the new spacesuits developed by Axiom.