More from NASA’s Artemis II mission to fly around the far side of the Moon
Even on NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in forever, the live stream captured astronauts having issues with Outlook (New) and Outlook (classic).
While I’m pretty sure the ship’s computers aren’t running on Windows, the crew is equipped with iPhones, tablets, and laptops “to review procedures and load entertainment onto before launch.”
Alongside the beautiful shots I’m seeing across social media, NASA has a photo album for yesterday’s launch that’s well worth checking out even if you tuned into the livestream. The album is hosted on Flickr, making America’s mission to the moon feel even more nostalgic.
Artemis II sets its eyes on an eventual Moon base, but do NASA’s plans violate international law?
Providing all goes to plan, NASA’s Artemis II mission will launch later today and carry astronauts around the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The launch window is targeted for 6:24PM ET, with the onsite countdown officially underway.
Artemis 2, slated to launch four astronauts around the Moon in just a few weeks, has been delayed due to a helium supply issue in the SLS rocket’s upper stage. The mission, originally scheduled for 2023, has now been delayed to April, at the earliest.
Following a successful wet dress rehearsal on Thursday plagued only by ground communications glitches, NASA says March 6th will be the earliest launch date for the long-delayed Artemis II mission that will send four astronauts on an approximately 600,000-mile trip to circle the moon and return to Earth.
NASA’s overnight wet dress rehearsal of the SLS rocket surfaced a liquid hydrogen leak. A second wet dress rehearsal is now needed, pushing the earliest possible launch of the crewed mission around the moon to March.
Former Real World cast member and current Transportation Secretary / acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy recently said SpaceX was “behind” on its contract for Artemis III and proposed reopening it. (Elon Musk responded with a predictable slew of insults.)
Now SpaceX has a response, but its blog post is missing one thing: the details of this “simplified” approach.
In response to the latest calls, we’ve shared and are formally assessing a simplified mission architecture and concept of operations that we believe will result in a faster return to the Moon while simultaneously improving crew safety.
