NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is finally headed towards the Moon

With a roar that lit up the night sky, NASA sent its next- generation rocket soaring into space for the first time. The start of a new era for the US government's space program was signaled by the launch of the Space Launch System rocket.

It also marks a major success for NASA's Artemis program to return to the Moon, which has been plagued by years of delays and budget overruns.

As it looks ahead to the program's future, NASA can put many of those problems in the back-view.

"For the Artemis generation, this is for you," said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson as she gave the go-ahead for launch.

The core stage of the rocket fell back to earth after the two craft separated. On December 11th, the capsule is going to splash down. Three mannequins, two of which were fitted with sensors to measure radiation levels, were used for this mission.

One of the main goals of this flight is testing the heat shield, which will have to endure temperatures of 2,800 degrees Celsius. NASA will be testing various equipment.

The test of NASA's most powerful rocket configuration yet was a precondition for future deep space missions. The Statue of Liberty is 17 feet taller than Artemis I, which is 322 feet tall. The maximum thrust of the SLS rocket will be 15 percent higher than that of the V rocket.

The rocket has been over budget and behind schedule. NASA was accused of failing to be transparent about cost overruns that have added almost $2 billion to the final budget

It was going to launch this year. On August 29th, the first launch attempt was scrubbed after Engine No. 3 failed to reach the right temperature. NASA made another attempt to launch the rocket, but had to scrub it again when a hydrogen leak appeared during fueling. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole delayed NASA's launch schedule even further because of the leaks.

The next flight of the Artemis program will take a crew of astronauts around the moon and back without landing. The first crewed Moon landings in 45 years are planned by NASA in 2025. The first woman and the first person of color are going to walk on the moon.