NASA Artemis 1 launch: NASA's new moon rocket blasts off on debut flight with three test dummies aboard, AP reported. The launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mission took place on Wednesday, November 16. The Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for the mission were planned to launch from Launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a two-hour launch window that opened at 1.04 AM EST (11.34 AM IST). Three previous attempts to launch this mission were aborted, the third owing to a hurricane, and the first two because of engine problems.

NASA Artemis 1 mission:10 intriguing facts 

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1. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before, as per NASA.

2. NASA strives to make the first long-term presence on the Moon with this mission.

3. After completing this mission, NASA will use what it has learned on and around the Moon to make the next enormous step of launching the first astronauts to Mars.

4. Over $4 billion will be spent on just this one mission. The stakes are significantly higher when you add up everything from the program's inception a decade ago to the lunar landing in 2025: $93 billion.

5. The first unmanned flight mission to travel beyond the Moon and land on Earth will be Artemis I. 

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6. Artemis I, the first of a succession of more upcoming missions, will lay the groundwork for human deep-space exploration and establish that humans are willing and able to extend their presence to the Moon and beyond.

7. The twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology is the inspiration behind the name of the Artemis programme.

8. The Moon's surface may get as hot as 120 °C during the day and as cold as -170 °C at night. The Orion spacecraft has to be built with materials capable of withstanding enormous thermal stress without failing since such massive temperature variations can cause significant thermal expansion and contraction of materials. Monitoring this and, more importantly, making sure that the breathable environment within the capsule is maintained throughout is one of the mission's objectives.

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9. NASA unveiled a short list of potential landing locations close to the Moon's South Pole for the Artemis-3 mission, which attempts to send humans to the Moon in 2025. Whether they reach that goal will ultimately depend on how things go for Artemis-1.

10. The Space Launch System (SLS), a brand-new super-heavy rocket from NASA that has never been launched before, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (or Orion MPCV), which has only flown in space once, are the two components of the Artemis 1 mission.

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