‘Let’s go!’ NASA launched the first manned lunar mission in nearly 54 years
After years of delays and nearly $100 billion in spending, NASA launched the first mission to send astronauts to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis 2’s 10-day mission began today with the liftoff of NASA’s 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 pm ET (3:35 pm PT). NASA broadcasts the flight via YouTube and Amazon Prime.
During the final two hours of the countdown, engineers addressed concerns about the rocket’s flight termination system and the battery instruments in the abort system. “Godspeed, Artemis 2,” launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew shortly before takeoff. “Let’s go!”
Artemis 2 is the first crewed test flight in a series leading to a lunar landing currently scheduled for 2028. It follows Artemis 1, which sent the unmanned Orion to the moon in 2022. This time, four astronauts rode inside Orion: NASA mission controller Reid Wiseman, Christinaloan Komstronaut and Astronaut Christinaloan Victor and NASA Astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
“It’s a great idea,” Wiseman told Mission Control as the rocket lifted off. “We have a good moonrise, we’re headed for it.”
Koch will be the first woman to cross Earth orbit. The same initials apply to Glover as a Black astronaut, and Hansen as a non-American astronaut.
Although the Artemis 2 astronauts will not land on the moon, they will follow a figure-8 trajectory that will send them 4,700 miles across the moon and make them the farthest travelers in human history.
Last week, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman made a plan to establish a permanent base on the moon and prepare for an even longer journey to the solar system. Today, Isaacman said Artemis 2 will be the “first act” of that era of science and discovery.
Executive director of exploration Jeff Spaulding, a veteran of the space travel program, said he is looking forward to the mission. “I’m happy to go to the moon,” he told reporters the night before the event was launched. “I’m excited to be there. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, for years – and get people out to Mars.”
The mission timeline calls for Orion to adjust its orbit around Earth today and undergo a system check. An hour after launch, Mission Control had to troubleshoot a communication blackout with the crew. After a gap of several minutes, Wiseman reported that he could hear capsuleer Stan Love “loud and clear.” Crews also worked with Mission Control to deal with a smelly toilet.
On Thursday, Orion will fire its main engine for about six minutes to take off from its orbit and head for the moon. The engine burn is designed to put the space capsule on a free return trajectory, which uses orbital mechanics to shoot to the moon during the return trip.
The health of the Artemis 2 astronauts will be monitored during the flight to assess the effects of deep space travel. The crew will also test Orion’s performance and familiarize themselves with flight safety procedures. For example, they will practice a protocol for sheltering from radiation storms that may erupt during a trip through Earth’s protective magnetosphere. They will also participate in exploration and exploration of the far side of the moon.
The culmination of the lunar flyby will take place on April 6. “They will be able to see the entire moon as the lunar disk on the far side of the moon,” Marie Henderson, deputy lunar science officer for the Artemis 2 mission, said in a NASA video. So, that’s a new, unique perspective that people haven’t looked at before.”
At the end of the mission, the crew and their Orion capsule are expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. They will be brought aboard a recovery ship for medical examination and returned to shore, following standard Apollo-era practice.
Artemis 2 is about the history of the American space program and its future. The profile of the lunar orbit mission is similar to that of Apollo 8, which served as a rallying event for a nation engulfed in the social upheaval of the time. The commander of that force, Frank Borman, reported receiving a telegram saying, “Congratulations to the Apollo 8 crew. You saved 1968.” Notably, less than one-third of Americans alive today were present when Apollo 8 flew.
The primary motivation for the Apollo program was the superpower rivalry between America and the Soviet Union, and today, the geopolitical stakes are just as high. NASA and the White House want to start progress on Artemis in part because China is aiming to land on the moon by 2030.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said this week during a visit to Seattle-area suppliers for the Artemis program that it was important for America to get to the moon first. “We’re trying to find the best place on the moon,” he said. “So, in order to do that, you have to go up there to look for it.”
The course of the Artemis program, named after the goddess of the moon and Apollo’s twin in Greek mythology, did not always go well. When the program was given its name in 2019, the Artemis 2 mission was planned for 2022 or 2023, with a lunar landing planned for 2024. The cost of this program is estimated at $93 billion by 2025, and each Artemis launch costs $4.1 billion.
The Artemis 2 launch team encountered several challenges during preparations for this year’s launch. Liftoff was scheduled for February, but a liquid hydrogen leak forced NASA to restart the launch in March. The launch date was reset again when a helium pressure problem required the rocket to be pulled back to fix it. The problem was resolved, and SLS was returned to the pad on March 20.
Many companies in the Seattle area are banking on Artemis’ success. For example, the Redmond facility operated by L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) builds thrusters for the Orion spacecraft and is already working on the Artemis 8 mission.
Boeing is the lead contractor for the main stage of the SLS rocket. Karman Space & Defense in Mukilteo provides hatch release mechanisms and parachute deployment hardware for the Orion. And Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company, based in Kent, is building a Blue Moon lander that the future Artemis crew could take to the lunar surface.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is expected to send an unmanned cargo version to the moon sometime in the next few months.
This report has been updated several times during the countdown and operation.
