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The Successful Launch of Artemis I

The rocket that will take humanity back to the moon has finally been launched, the Space Launch System (SLS) aims to lay the groundwork for a sustainable human presence on the moon’s surface and serve as an outpost for explore the red planet

After 50 years of human absence on the moon, Artemis I represents a new beginning in space exploration, the rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 1:48 a.m. today, November 16, 2022.

After overcoming technical and weather problems, Artemis and being suspended a few times, it finally took off to test the Orion capsule, which will return to earth somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.

The capsule does not carry a crew, but software and a dummy called moonkin, which will test the space suits for this mission, as well as test the software used by the capsule.

The generational transfer from Apollo to Orion is spaced 50 years apart and is expected to inspire in the same way that the Apollo missions inspired millions in their time, since the Moon is only a step, the true objective is Mars and its exploration.

Fortunately, everything went well in the spectacular launch, which was witnessed by thousands of people. What worries scientists and engineers is that Orion’s thermal coating resists re-entry temperatures at a speed of 38,000 km/h, 32 times the speed of the sound.

The capsule is expected to reach a temperature of 2,200 degrees Celsius, and this worries engineers since the carbon coating of the shuttles supported 1,648 degrees Celsius, so the Orion test upon reentry of the Earth’s atmosphere is a high priority for NASA and ESA.

If all goes according to plan, the Artemis missions are expected to run consecutively until reaching IX, the third mission was designated for the moon landing, the first woman, as well as the first person of color, will be on this mission. His mission will be to test the roaming habitats on the Moon.

This is just the beginning for space exploration, another giant leap for mankind.