'Artemis 1' First Flight Countdown ... Moon Exploration After Half a Century

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The manned lunar exploration program 'Artemis,' led by the United States, is taking its first major step.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the official countdown for the 'Artemis I' rocket launch began at 9:53 a.m. local time on the 27th, about 46 hours before launch. The countdown started as soon as the launch team arrived at the Kennedy Space Center base in Florida, USA.

Artemis I is the first flight mission of the 'Artemis' manned lunar exploration program, resuming after more than 50 years since Apollo 17 in 1972. This flight is the first phase of the Artemis mission. If this phase succeeds, it will be followed by the second phase, Artemis II manned flight in 2024, and the third phase in 2025, which will see the first woman and person of color astronauts land on the moon.

The manned capsule 'Orion' will conduct a test flight traveling to lunar orbit and back over approximately 42 days. Orion is mounted on the 'Space Launch System' (SLS), a large rocket boasting the most powerful thrust in history.

The SLS is 98.1 meters long, equivalent to the height of a 32-story building. Although shorter than the Saturn V (111 meters), which sent Apollo spacecraft to the moon, its maximum thrust is 8.8 million pounds, enhanced by 15%. The SLS is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:33 a.m. local time on the 29th (9:33 p.m. Korean time).

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