NASA’s Artemis mission to return humans to moon sees most powerful rocket ever launch into space
NASA’s most powerful rocket ever has launched into space in the first step of a mission to return humans to the moon.
The next-generation, multibillion-dollar Space Launch System lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with the Orion spacecraft in tow.
It surged off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral at 1.47am local time (6.47am UK), around 40 minutes into a two-hour window after late repairs to a leak and faulty communications equipment.
‘A place in history’ – catch up on the Artemis 1 launch as it happened
The crewless voyage is the inaugural flight of NASA’s Artemis programme, which will eventually take a team of astronauts to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Wednesday morning’s launch for Artemis 1 came after several delays stretching back to the summer, but the stunning images from America’s east coast certainly made it worth the wait.
Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told her team: “We are all involved in something incredibly special: the first launch of Artemis. The first step in returning our country to the moon and on to Mars. What you have done today will inspire generations to come.”
What will the launch achieve?
The mega rocket generated 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch, far greater than any used by NASA before, while its two boosters and four RS-25 engines also produced plenty of power.
“You definitely knew there was some energy being expended over there,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who watched it unfold from the roof of the launch centre.
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Once in orbit, the boosters were among portions of the rocket which detached and headed back to Earth, leaving Orion and the upper portion of the rocket in space.
Orion then deployed its four solar arrays, each of which can generate 11 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power two three-bedroom homes.
It all happened within the opening hour of what is a 26-day mission, where the rocket and Orion will head to the moon and beyond, before coming back home. Both are equipped with cameras to feed back data and images while they’re among the stars.
While in space it will deploy 10 miniaturised satellites, which will perform a variety of work, from studying how radiation affects yeast DNA to hunting for water ice on the moon.
Weather is also a big focus of the test mission, with galactic cosmic rays presenting the biggest risk to future crews.
The Artemis moon rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pics: Reuters
‘A great legacy’
Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 will follow in the years ahead – the former, which is aiming for 2024, is a crewed mission that will take a path much like Artemis 1.
Artemis 3 will go further by landing its crew on the lunar surface. Earmarked for 2025, that launch will make history by putting a woman and person of colour on the moon for the first time.
NASA hopes to use the Artemis programme to build a base camp and conduct annual missions – and also use it as a test bed for even more ambitious missions, starting with getting a human to Mars.
Mr Nelson said Artemis was “part of a great legacy”.
“It didn’t end with Apollo 17,” he added.
“This time we’re going back, we’re going to learn, and then we’re going to Mars – with humans.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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