NASA plans to launch the Artemis I lunar mission in February 2022

The publication Space.com reports that NASA expects to launch the test ship Artemis I uncrewed in February 2022, with the window for takeoff already open on February 12. The Orion capsule is already mounted on top of a Space Launch System rocket, and the launch now depends largely on ongoing tests.

However, these tests may take some time. The space agency plans to test interfaces, engineering systems, communications and the countdown system. The most important test is a "dress rehearsal," when the Artemis I crew will try to load and unload fuel a few weeks before launch. NASA will not set an exact launch date until after a successful rehearsal, so the final timeline will not be known for quite some time.

Artemis I will send the Orion capsule around the Moon to study acceleration, radiation and vibration during the journey. But there will already be a human crew aboard "Artemis II". NASA had hoped to land humans on the moon in 2024, but budget concerns and a battle over landing contracts between Ilon Musk and Jeff Bezos have put that goal in doubt.

Source: space

Illustration: NASA/Frank Michaux