“I have to be blunt here: we’ve been there before.” That’s what US President Barack Obama said when he canceled the pre-Artemis project to get back to the moon.
So why do we keep coming back? Well, it’s a work in progress scientifically.
The Moon is where you go to find out things about Earth’s geological history. Our planet has erased much of its past, weathering and recycling its rocks.
The Moon preserves the conditions that existed at the beginning of the Solar System, billions of years ago. We’re going to the moon to find out about us.
But we also go there to learn how to get to Mars.
The moon is not far away. If you get into trouble, you can quickly come back. Getting to Mars and back is much more difficult, and if you decide to visit the Red Planet, you better be prepared.
A NASA astronaut said the technical problems we are currently experiencing are “very common”.
“Especially for the first flight of a brand new spacecraft,” says Stan Love, adding that this is the first time the rocket has been brought close to launch.
He says this is a test flight, which means there are “a lot of opportunities for new things,” but adds, “I really hope we’re ready.”
On the planned trip itself, Love says it will be a six-week flight where the main goal of the engineers and astronauts is to “make sure every part of that spacecraft is working [before we] bring it back to Earth.”
Assuming all goes according to plan, he says a crew will be named after Artemis returns and training will begin soon after – bringing us one step closer to humans reaching the moon again.
What happens if startup fails?
While Artemis I was originally scheduled to lift off at 08:33 local time (13:33 BST) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it can be moved up to 10:33 local time (15:33 BST) if necessary. due to weather or technical problems.
If liftoff is not possible within this time frame, NASA has two backup dates: September 2nd and September 5th.
These launch windows are largely controlled by the rocket’s Flight Termination System (FTS), which has a battery certified for 20 days, beginning with installation on SLS on August 18.
If take-off does not take place by then, the FTS will have to be removed and replaced.
However, NASA officials expressed confidence that the liftoff will take place on one of the three scheduled dates.
Engineers continue to work on the operating temperature issue
The crack issue is not considered serious at this time. Engineers believe that what they were looking at is simply ice forming on the outside of the rocket’s core stage. But engineers continue to work on other issues that may yet lead to a scrubbing day.
The key outstanding issue now appears to be getting one of the large engines under the rocket up to proper operating temperature.