Nasa Artemis moon mission: New launch planned for Wednesday

9 November 2022

Nasa's SLS rocket — Image caption,
Nasa have postponed the mission before but hope to send Orion into space on Monday

Nasa hopes to finally kick off their Artemis I mission next week.

The launch had been attempted earlier in October, but due to weather and technical issues it was pushed forward to November.

The Artemis I mission is part of Nasa's plan to get a man and a woman on the moon by 2025.

This launch will not have a crew on it and will be controlled on the ground by Nasa's space experts.

The plan was to have the launch on Monday 14 November, but due to Tropical Storm Nicole affecting Florida, it's been bumped back to Wednesday 16 November, to make sure everyone involved is kept safe.

Would you ever want to go into space? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page!

What we know so far about the Artemis mission:

Artemis Moon mission: Everything you need to know

Why Shaun is going on Nasa's next Moon mission!

Nasa's giant new Moon rocket revealed

What is the Artemis mission?

NASA

This is just the start of Nasa's plan to send a man and - for the first time ever - a woman to the moon!

Nasa eventually plans to send humans to the moon again, using their new Space Launch System rocket.

This rocket is designed to make sending humans up to the moon easier - but it needs to be tested before astronauts head off into space.

The Artemis I mission will send a special spacecraft called Orion around the moon and then back to earth.

Orion is being sent from the Space Launch System and if this is a success Nasa hopes it will prove they can send humans up to the moon

Know your Orion from your Artemis? Try our Nasa true or false quiz.

Why was the mission delayed?

Handout

The SLS rocket is 100 metres tall and is designed to send enough cargo to the moon to keep astronauts there for a long time

Originally the mission was delayed due to engine problems, and then another attempt soon after was called off because of a liquid hydrogen leak.

It was then pushed forward again due to storm Ian in the USA.

It's quite commons for space missions to be postponed - there's lots that needs to be done to make sure the rocket is ready for launch.

It also all depends on conditions on the day. If the weather is not quite right, or if a piece of equipment has a problem, it can impact the whole mission.