(WWJ) – NASA is getting ready to launch not only a rocket, but a new era in space exploration.
NASA on Tuesday night began rolling out the Artemis I rocket to the launch pad, with a target date of Aug. 29 set for an unmanned mission that will pave the way for putting astronauts back on the moon.
Speaking with WWJ’s Erin Vee on this week’s edition of “All Over the Space,” Mike Murray of the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City explained why this is such a big deal and what exactly it entails.
“This is the biggest, most powerful rocket built by NASA since the Saturn V, which carried the Apollo astronauts to the moon,” Murray said.
Murray says while the three-week Artemis I mission is unmanned, it will be going through the entire flight, orbiting the moon as a sort of “practice mission” for future flights.
“You’ve also got thousands of little experiments and sensors that are gonna be checking virtually everything that you need to do in order to put people, astronauts, on Artemis II, which will happen, probably in another year or so after that,” Murray said.
NASA is streaming the entire roll out of the Artemis rocket, which is expected to take more than eight hours, as it will move at a max of 1 mph, according to Murray.
More information on the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City can be found online. Follow the planetarium on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.
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