NASA's Artemis Moon mission is approved for launch

The agency conducted a flight readiness review late on Monday and concluded that there were no substantive technical issues. As part of the Space Launch System, a capsule named Orion will travel around the Moon.

The spacecraft will remain unmanned for subsequent missions, assuming everything goes smoothly. An SLS rocket will be launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It has been given a two-hour window to leave Earth on Monday, starting at 08:33 local time.

'The review did not result in any actions or dissenting opinions,' said Jim Free, Nasa's associate administrator for exploration systems. The launch will mark a key moment for Nasa, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17's last lunar landing in December.

In its new 'Artemis program', the agency promises to use technology that is appropriate for the modern age. The return to the Moon is seen as a way to prepare astronauts for the journey to Mars in the 2030s or shortly thereafter. In some ways, it will be the first moonwalk for more than half the world's population, said Keith Cowing, the editor of the Nasa Watch website.

The way we do things is different; everything is instant, everything is going to be in HD... In the end, we'll send humans to another planet, and if we do it again, hopefully, it will be a global effort this time, not two countries competing against one another.'

The and Orion have been in development for over a decade, each costing more than $20bn. It has already flown one time, on a near-Earth test mission in 2014. It used a commercial rocket to get into space, however. The upcoming flight represents the first end-to-end examination of Artemis' exploration hardware.

The launch pad for the SpaceX and Orion spacecraft was rolled out last week. As the countdown approaches, engineering and technical staff have been attaching fuel, electrical, and communication lines. Initially, the Artemis I launch team is scheduled to call stations on Saturday at 9:53 EDT, with the loading of the SLS propellants set to begin after midnight on Monday.

'The launch team has completed 30 sims and is ready to launch,' said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, launch director. It is expected back on Earth on 10 October, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California.

In 2024, Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to use SLS-Orion. Artemis III will not land on the lunar surface before late 2025, the first time since 1972. In the past few days, Nasa published the locations on the lunar surface where future astronaut crews could be sent.

13 destinations have been identified as potential destinations. The lunar south pole is within six degrees of their latitude. In order to study water-ices over billions of years, we are trying to get close to permanently shadowed areas. It may also be possible to make rocket fuel from these ices.

The former shuttle astronaut Bob Cabana, who is now NASA's associate administrator, said shortly after Monday's review was completed: 'I'm a product of the Apollo generation, and look at what it did for us.' Artemis is going to inspire even more than Apollo did. 'I'm sure it will be absolutely outstanding.'