HIGHLIGHTS

The Artemis II mission has made 'significant progress,' according to NASA.

Artemis I has been postponed a number of times.

The launch of Artemis I is now scheduled for March or April 2022.

WHY IN NEWS

While the first Artemis mission has yet to launch, NASA and its partners in the United States are already hard at work building the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the second Artemis mission, which will be the first crewed Artemis mission. The teams of scientists working on the SLS rocket for the second Artemis mission have made 'significant progress,' according to NASA. The teams are also putting significant components of the Artemis missions through their paces, which are set to launch after the first two, according to the space agency.

Artemis is one of NASA's most ambitious projects, with the goal of returning people to the Moon for the first time since the 1970s. NASA wants to reestablish humanity's presence on the Moon for a longer period of time and transform it into a launchpad for missions to Mars. The program's initial mission, Artemis I, is the first in a series of progressively difficult missions. When completed, the SLS rocket will be the world's most powerful rocket, capable of sending missions further and quicker due to its unmatched capabilities. SLS provides more than 8.8 million pounds of force to propel each Artemis voyage above Earth's atmosphere and further to the Moon, thanks to its two solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines. According to NASA, more than 1,000 firms from around the United States contributed to the development of the Artemis I SLS rocket and the SLS rockets that will launch future missions.

read more : 

'The Space Launch System team is not just developing one rocket, but numerous rockets for exploratory missions and future SLS flights beyond the first Artemis launch,' stated John Honeycutt, the programme manager for the Space Launch System. Artemis I was designed as an exploration-only mission by NASA. Over the course of four to six weeks, the spacecraft will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon. The debut, however, has been plagued by delays. Artemis I was supposed to launch in November of last year, but NASA postponed it until February of this year, and it is now slated to launch in March or April. 

Artemis 1 spacecraft to  moon has been postponed even again

Artemis 1 will be the first flight of NASA's new Space Fly System (SLS) megarocket, which was originally slated to launch by the end of this year. The programme will include at least two additional flights. Artemis 2 will be released in 2023, followed by Artemis 3 in 2024, when humans will walk on the Moon for the first time since 1972. However, because to the frequent delays in launching Artemis 1, the next two missions are likely to be delayed. NASA engineers discovered a fault with one of the engine flight controls, according to a blog post. They carried out a number of examinations and troubleshooting procedures before deciding to replace the engine controller. 'NASA is formulating a strategy and an updated timetable to replace the engine controller in March and April while continuing integrated testing and considering launch prospects,' the agency stated.

The SLS rocket is made up of a core booster and four RS-25 engines, each having its own flight controller, dubbed the 'brain' of the engine by NASA. Even a slight malfunction in the 'brain' might create serious issues for NASA. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers are continuing to test the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft. After all of the final testing are completed, rocket engineers will undertake a 'wet dress' rehearsal, during which crews will perform each stage of the launch preparations, including fuel loading.