A new era of space exploration is set to launch at 8:33 a.m. ET on Monday.
NASA's Artemis 1 mission is a test of the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft — it will be unmanned on Monday, but the plan is to soon use Orion to get a crew to the moon, where they will set up a base camp. NASA says the ultimate goal is to use what is learned during the first Artemis missions to send an expedition to Mars.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everythingFeature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
-
Trump’s TPS takedownFeature The president plans to deport a million immigrants with protected status. What effects will that have?
-
Do I qualify for student loan forgiveness?The Explainer There are a number of different pathways to qualification, though each requires strict criteria to be met
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggestsSpeed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
-
Chile's stargazing 'dark skies' are under threatUnder The Radar New chemical plant could spoil celebrated astronomical stronghold
-
Life after space: how will Nasa's stranded astronauts cope?In the Spotlight Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are headed back to Earth after nine months on the ISS – but their greatest challenge may still lie ahead
-
Killer space rocksFeature The threat to Earth from a newly discovered asteroid has faded. Others could be headed our way.
-
Full moon calendar: dates and times for every full moon this yearIn depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
The shape of Earth's core is changingUnder the radar Mysteries remain at the center of the planet
-
How worried should we be about asteroids?Today's Big Question Odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth have fluctuated wildly this week
-
Pharaoh's tomb discovered for first time in 100 yearsSpeed Read This is the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun in 1922
