Moon calling! NASA to launch Artemis 1 mission on August 29

The US space agency has given a go-ahead for August 29 for the first uncrewed flight of Artemis I on its mission beyond the Moon and return to Earth.

The 'Flight Readiness Review' for NASA's Artemis I mission has concluded, and teams are now proceeding toward a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT (6 p.m. India time) on August 29 from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B in Florida, NASA said in a statement late on Monday.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.

"The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion's heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown," NASA said.

NASA had earlier tentatively selected 3 dates for the launch: August 29, September 2, and September 5 for the uncrewed mission.

The US space agency last week identified 13 candidate landing regions near the lunar south pole, as it prepares to send humans back to the Moon under the Artemis programme in 2024.

Each region contains multiple potential landing sites for Artemis III, which will be the first of the Artemis missions to bring crew to the lunar surface, including the first woman to set foot on the Moon.