Artemis launch – live: Nasa won’t commit to new launch date lift-off was scrubbed
Momentous lift off of Atemis 1 mission as Nasa live stream reveals potential issues with core stage
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The launch Nasa’s Artemis 1 mission scheduled for Monday morning has been scrubbed due to issues with one of the Moon rocket’s engines.
Lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida was set for 08.33 local time (13.33 BST) on Monday, 29 August. The next launch window for Artemis I opens 2 September, with a second back up window opening 5 September.
As of Monday afternoon, Nasa officials said the space agency needs more time to assess the problems encountered during Monday’s launch before they can decide on a new launch date, but for now they are keeping the rocket on the pad and in a configuration that could allow a launch on Friday.
Weather conditions were favourable for launch Monday, despite some concerning lightning strikes over the weekend, and weather was not a direct cause for the scrub.
Artemis 1 is the first flight for Nasa’s fiant Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule, serving as a crucial test for making sure all the related systems function properly in space ahead of the first humans climbing aboard Artemis 2 in 2023.
You can follow all the latest news and updates in our live blog below, and watch a live stream of the Artemis 1 rocket launch from Nasa TV at the top of this page.
Welcome to the live blog coverage of Nasa’s preparation to launch its Artemis I mission, which is scheduled for as soon as 29 August.
Follow along here for live updates of the launch.
What you need to know about Nasa’s next big space launch
The biggest rocket launch to take place since 1973 could happen later this month, as Nasa hopes to launch its new Moon rocket on its maiden test flight.
The Artemis I mission, a test flight of Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, is scheduled to lift off no earlier than 8.33am EDT on 29 August, with backup launch windows on 2 and 5 September in case weather or other concerns cause Nasa to scrub the launch.
The launch and pre-launch activities will be carried live on Nasa TV, the Nasa app, and the space agency’s website.
Here’s everything you need to know about Nasa’s next big space launch, as reported by The Independent’s Jon Kelvey:
What you need to know about Nasa’s next big space launch
Nasa’s largest rocket launch since the 1970s could come before the end of August
Nasa officials outline 29 August Artemis I Moon mission
Nasa’s long-awaited return to the Moon could begin as soon as 29 August, the space agency announced earlier this month during a press conference.
“The Saturn five took us to the moon, half a century ago,” Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Now, as we embark on the first Artemis test flight, we recall this agency’s storied past, but our eyes are focused not on the immediate future, but out there.”
Artemis is Nasa’s new Moon program, and the upcoming flight on 29 August is dubbed Artemis I. It will be an uncrewed test flight to test Nasa’s huge Moon rocket, the Space Launch System, or SLS, and the Orion spacecraft, which will fly to, around, and beyond the Moon before returning to Earth 42 days later.
Read the full story from The Independent below:
Nasa officials outline 29 August Artemis I Moon mission
The long-awaited first test flight of Nasa’s new Artemis Moon program could take to the skies by the end of August
Nasa to roll its big Moon rocket to launch pad on Tuesday, three days early
Nasa will roll its massive Moon rocket to the launch pad three days early, now targeting the evening of Tuesday 16 August to begin moving the giant launch vehicle out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Once Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is on the launch pad, preparations will begin for the first ever test flight of the big rocket currently scheduled for 8.33am EDT on 29 August. Nasa hopes that SLS, along with the Orion spacecraft it carries, will be the cornerstone of the space agency’s Artemis Moon program, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025.
The 29 August launch and pre-launch activities will be carried live on Nasa TV, the Nasa app, and the space agency’s website. If Nasa has to scrub the launch, additional launch windows open on 2 and 5 September.
Keep reading the full report from my colleague Jon Kelvey below:
Nasa to roll its big Moon rocket to launch pad on Tuesday, three days early
Nasa expected to prepare for a historic test flight scheduled for 29 August
Watch: Nasa mini-doc on the assembly of the Space Launch System
As Nasa prepares for the Artemis I mission, the space agency has released a new mini documentary feature that traces the path of the assembly of the most powerful rocket Nasa engineers have ever built.
Watch documentary footage of Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s transformation into the over-300-foot-tall launch vehicle that will return humanity to the Moon.
Watch: Follow Nasa’s Orion Spacecraft path on the Artemis I mission
Curious to know what the path for Nasa’s Orion spacecraft will look like?
Fear not, as Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace, arms, defense and technology corporation, has released an easy to follow visualisation that will help you envision exactly what the spacecraft is doing when it launches on 29 August.
Check out the visual explainer below:
Nasa’s first Space Launch System rocket scheduled to roll onto platform tonight
Nasa confirmed that the space agency’s Space Launch System rocket, which will be responsible for launching the Artemis I mission on 29 August, should be rolling onto Launch Pad 39B as soon as 9pm EDT on Tuesday.
How to live stream the the rollout of Nasa’s megarocket ahead of Artemis I launch
The megarocket that will be responsible for launching the Artemis I mission on 29 August begins it’s slow rollout to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday evening.
For those who would enjoy nothing more than to bask in watching the enormous Space Launch System (SLS) make the 4km-trek to the launch pad on Tuesday, you’ll be able to scratch that itch by following Nasa’s live stream, which goes live at 3pm EST.
Follow along in the video below, or click on this link to watch on the official YouTube page:
Nasa says it will investigate mysterious mounds on moon in Artemis mission
In June, Nasa announced that the space agency had selected two new instrument suites for what it calls “priority” science missions in its upcoming Artemis lunar space programme, including one to explore mysterious mounds on the moon.
The American space agency has selected an instrument called the Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-Vise) to study the Gruithuisen Domes on the moon, which have puzzled scientists since they appear to have been formed by a magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite.
Researchers say formations like these need oceans of liquid water and plate tectonics to form on earth.
Without these “key ingredients” on the moon, scientists are puzzled about how these domes formed and evolved over time.
Keep reading the full report about the mysterious space mounds on the moon from The Independent:
Nasa says it will investigate mysterious mounds on moon
Formations like Gruithuisen Domes need oceans of liquid water and plate tectonics to form, scientists say
‘Plasma’ breakthrough could let humans live on Mars
Artemis I is the first test flight for SLS and Orion and will serve as a crucial test for making sure all the related systems function properly in space before the first humans climb aboard for Artemis II in 2023. But it will also serve as a proving ground for whether or not humans can surpass the next space frontier: getting boots on the ground on Mars.
Outside of the engineering feat that it would take to physically land on the red planet, there are other more concerning restrictions. Namely, the planet is hostile for supporting human life. It does not have the oxygen required for breathing, nor the fuel for the machinery and equipment people will need to live in its desolate environment.
A new plasma breakthrough, however, could help humans live on Mars, according to the scientists who made it.
Scientists hope to build a system that would help support life as well as make the chemicals needed for processing fuels, making materials and fertilising plants.
Keep reading the full report from my colleague Andrew Griffin:
‘Plasma’ breakthrough could let humans live on Mars
Breakthrough could help address climate change on Earth too, scientists say
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