NASA wants to get back out there

NASA’s planning a late August launch for the Artemis 1.

Fly me to the moon

On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, NASA is planning to get back out there. It will be the most ambitious space launch NASA has attempted since 2014 when it fired off the EFT-1, which orbited around the Earth for just under four and a half hours.

Astronauts last landed on the moon in 1972, making the planned August launch a hugely symbolic moment for space travel. Florida weather permitting, of course.

Air Artemis

The Artemis 1 is the spacecraft of choice. The 30-story Space Launch System and attached Orion capsule stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. Once launched, it will circulate astronauts around the moon in 2023, and potentially attempt a lunar landing in 2025.

So, this is a pretty big moment. For a number of decades, NASA has seen its funding up for debate and even outright slashed on more than one occasion. With the likes of Musk, Branson, and Bezos all jetting off into the stars, NASA’s space minds have seen a commercial space race far surpass their own capabilities, leading some to wonder whether or not there would ever again be a publicly funded space mission to the moon.

So let the doubters rue this day – NASA is back to its former glory. Nearly.