Artemis I: NASA's Mega Moon Rocket Arrives At Launchpad Ahead Of Historic Mission

The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the NASA's Artemis I mission have arrived at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA is targeting 29 August for the first launch attempt of the mega Moon rocket, with backup opportunities on 2 and 5 September.

A successful launch on 29 August would result in a mission duration of approximately 42 days, with a targeted Orion splashdown on 10 October, NASA said in a statement.

NASA said that in the coming days, engineers and technicians will configure systems at the pad for launch.

The Artemis I mission, a planned uncrewed test flight for NASA's Artemis program, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.

The launch later this month will mark the first flight of the US space agency's Space Launch System (SLS) super heavy-lift launch vehicle and the first flight of the Orion spacecraft.

The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, and will see an Orion spacecraft launched on a mission of between 26 and 42 days, with at least six of those days in a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The mission will certify Orion and the Space Launch System for crewed flights beginning with Artemis II.

The uncrewed Orion spacecraft will travel around 64,800 km past the Moon, farther than any spacecraft built for humans has gone before.

This mission will prepare for a crewed Artemis II mission and subsequent missions that will deliver astronauts to the surface of the Moon and to the lunar Gateway.