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NASA's Space Launch System rocket taking off from Kennedy Space Center

On November 16th, the Space Launch System rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a mission to the moon.

NASA/BILLINGALLS/HANDOUT

For the first time, the most powerful rocket took off. The Space Launch System (SLS) was the first flight and the first step in NASA's path back to the moon when it was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The mission is called Artemis I because it is the first part of the program. During this time, the crew capsule will travel to the moon and stay there for six days before returning to Earth.

There aren't any astronauts for Artemis I. The mannequins are equipped with sensors to measure radiation levels and the forces that astronauts would have to endure if they were on board. The cubesats are small satellites that are used to study space weather and the moon. A person with a solar sail will try to fly to an asteroid.

NASA associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen says, "We have the cubesats there and the experiments and so forth- whatever we can do, we will."

One of the main goals is to test the heat shield that will enter Earth's atmosphere at a rate of 40,000 km per hour. Zurbuchen said that the risk for the rocket was higher than the risk for the capsule. Getting off the Earth is not going to be as difficult as bringing Orion back. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight if the test goes well.

The crewed mission around the moon will last about 10 days. Artemis III is expected to take two astronauts to the surface of the moon in the year 2025. It will be the first crewed lunar landing since 1972 and the beginning of a long project to build a lunar space station and a sustained human exploration programme on the moon.

The goal is to have a long-term presence on the moon rather than just putting boots down and poking around. Testing out new technologies, new vehicles, getting crew members practice for longer-duration missions, and looking towards sending crew to Mars are some of the things we will be doing.

The road that led to this was hard to forget as the rocket flew into the sky. The SLS programme was mandated to be fully operational by the end of the year. When SLS launches were delayed so much that it became a joke in the space flight community, it was almost like a freeze over. It has finally flown after delays throughout August, September and October because of cooling issues, fuel leaks and weather.

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