Living on the moon may seem like a fantasy to most people, but NASA is taking its first steps towards building a lunar base right now, and it's not too far away.
A rocket expected to blast off Tuesday morning from New Zealand will travel around the moon in a way that the U.S. agency wants to do. The base would serve as a place for Artemis astronauts to live and prepare for future trips to the moon.
UPDATE: Jun. 28, 2022, 6:51 a.m. EDT NASA announced that at 5:55 a.m. ET, a Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully blasted off with the CAPSTONE spacecraft.
Two years is how long it will take to establish the space outpost. The base is similar to the International Space Station, with several ports for docking and a lab for conducting space weather experiments.
NASA's test mission, dubbed CAPSTONE, will be launched by Rocket Lab at 5 a.m. with live coverage. At 5:55 a.m., the plane will take off. The time is Tuesday. The public can use NASA's Eyes on the Solar System tool to find it after a week.
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There won't be astronauts riding along this time. The smallest rocket to ever attempt a launch to the moon will be used by Rocket Lab to send a 55 pound microwave oven-size satellite. The satellite will be the first to fly around the moon. The path should have special properties, such as tugs from Earth and the moon, and ensure the moon is always facing Earth.
The best fit for a base was determined after scientists looked at a lot of different possibilities. A low-lunar would be very close to the moon. It would take more fuel to counteract the moon's gravity, according to NASA. It would be less convenient to access the ground if a distant retrograde was used.
In this infographic, NASA explains the unique halo orbit the Gateway lunar space station will follow to orbit the moon. Credit: NASA
The best of both worlds would be achieved with Gateway's proposed flight path. The path would be a weeklong loop with relatively easy access to the moon's surface. NASA wants astronauts to test their ability to survive on the red planet.
Scientists will be able to get valuable data from that time in space. It will allow scientists to take advantage of the deep space environment for a new era of radiation experiments that will inspire a better understanding of potential impacts of space weather on people and instruments.
The 59-foot Electron rocket will be the smallest rocket to attempt a launch to the moon, according to Rocket Lab, a commercial contractor for NASA. Credit: Rocket Lab
A novel approach will be used to get CAPSTONE to its destination. The satellite will be boosted to low- Earth position. The company's Photon spaceship will take over and propel it into space through a series of maneuvers. After breaking free of Earth's gravity, it will use its own system to get to the moon.
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