Washington: NASA said Friday is now targeting February 202 for the Lunar Artemis 1 mission, the first step in the American plan to return humans to this month.
Space agencies initially wanted to launch a test flight at the end of this year, with astronauts in the field in 2024 about Artemis 3, but the timeline had slipped back.
It reached the main milestone Wednesday when it accumulated the Orion crew capsule on the megarocket room launch system, which now stands 322 feet (98 m) high inside the vehicle assembly building at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After the next test, it will be pushed to the launch bearing for the final test known as “wet dress training” in January, with the first window for the opening of the launch in February, officials said on the call.
“The February launch period opened on the 12th and our last chance in February was on the 27th,” said Mike Nerve, Artemis 1 Mission Manager.
The next Windows in March and then April.
This potential launch period depends on the orbital mechanics and the relative position of the earth with respect to natural satellites.
The mission duration is expected to be four to six weeks.
It will also spread a number of small satellites, known as cubons, to conduct experiments and demonstrations of technology.
Although the possibility of being pushed back, Artemis 2 is technically scheduled for 2023 and artemis 3 for 2024, return to humanity to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
NASA said Moonwalkers would include the first woman and the first person to travel.
The space body tries to build a sustainable presence on the moon, and use lessons learned to plan crew trips to Mars in the 2030s.