NASA's Moon flyby mission primed for launch
Four astronauts are set to embark Wednesday on the first crewed journey around the Moon since 1972, an odyssey that aims to launch the US into a new era of space exploration.
The NASA mission dubbed Artemis 2 has been years in the making after facing repeated setbacks and massive cost overruns, but is finally scheduled to take off from Florida as early as 6:24 pm (2224 GMT).
Under bright Florida sunshine, the rocket's giant tanks started filling with liquid hydrogen and oxygen at 8:35 am.
The team featuring Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen will set forth on the approximately 10-day mission and hurtle around Earth's nearest celestial neighbor without landing -- much like Apollo 8 did in 1968.
The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.
It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, dubbed SLS.
The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration.
"It's a stepping stone to Mars, where we might have the most likelihood of finding evidence of past life, but it's also a Rosetta Stone for how other solar systems form," Koch told reporters on the weekend.
- Repeated setbacks -
The mission was originally due to take off as early as February.
But repeated setbacks stalled the mission and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs.
As of Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials voiced confidence that engineering operations and final preparations were proceeding smoothly.
If Wednesday's launch is canceled or delayed, there are more liftoff opportunities through Monday, although weather later in the week was looking slightly less favorable.
Melinda Schuerfranz, a retiree from Ohio, traveled to Florida for the launch.
"We're looking forward to it, we've never seen anything like this," the 76-year-old swimsuit-clad beachgoer told AFP.
But Schuerfranz remembers the Apollo era, and thinks some of the magic might be lost in today's more fragmented media environment.
"I think it was way more exciting then," she said. "Everybody tuned into it."
- 'Astronauts for Halloween' -
Artemis is facing pressure from President Donald Trump, who has pushed the pace of the ambitious program that's aiming to see boots hit the lunar surface before his second term ends in early 2029.
Artemis 2's objectives include verifying that both the rocket and the spacecraft are in working order in the hopes of paving the way for a Moon landing in 2028.
That deadline has raised eyebrows among experts, in part because Washington is relying on the private sector's technological headway.
The astronauts will require a second vehicle to descend to the moon's surface, a lunar lander that remains under development by rival space companies owned by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
This contemporary era of American lunar investment has frequently been portrayed as an effort in competition with China, which is currently aiming to land humans on the Moon by 2030.
For NASA head Jared Isaacman, it's a multi-pronged pursuit related to scientific discovery, national security and economic opportunity -- as well as some less tangible goals.
"I guarantee after these astronauts fly around the moon, you're going to have more kids dressing up as astronauts for Halloween," Isaacman said during a recent television interview.
"And that's going to inspire the next generation to take us further."
(T.W.Lukyanenko--DTZ)
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