NASA updates Artemis I moon mission

NASA will host a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT Thursday, Nov. 3, to discuss the status of its Artemis I flight test that will launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The uncrewed mission will send the Orion spacecraft beyond the Moon and back to Earth before future missions with crew.

Briefing participants include:

Jim Free, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems Program, Kennedy

NASA is planning to roll the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Friday, Nov. 4, at 12:01 a.m. ahead of launch.

The agency continues to target launch for Monday, Nov. 14, with liftoff planned during a 69-minute launch window that opens at 12:07 a.m. EST. A launch on Nov. 14 would result in a mission duration of about 25-and-a-half days with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean Friday, Dec. 9.

Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence, and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars.