NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket & SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Rocket & SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | Kennedy Space Center 

At right is NASA’s Artemis I moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion spacecraft aboard, is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B as the Artemis I launch team prepares for the next wet dress rehearsal test. At left, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Axiom Space Mission 1 (Ax-1), Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ax-1 mission is the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Ax-1 crew members Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada are scheduled to launch on April 8 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. 

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

Learn more about Ax-1 at Axiom Space:

https://www.axiomspace.com

During their 10-day mission, the Ax-1 crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Artemis I launch is currently scheduled for spring 2022.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.  It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

Learn more about Artemis I at:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Image Date: April 6, 2022

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