NASA's historic moon program is underway as Artemis 1 takes its first successful flight on Wednesday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The minestrone event kicked off the journey of the unmanned Orion spacecraft around the moon to help astronauts reach the lunar surface by 2025 through the Artemis program.
The Artemis 1 Moon Mission Aims To Put Astronauts Back On The Moon After 50 Years
Artemis 1 finally took off on November 16 at 1:47 a.m. EST (6:47 GMT) from the 39B launch pad in Florida with launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson in command.
"We are all part of something incredibly special: The first launch of Artemis, the first step in returning our country to the moon and on to Mars ... will inspire generations to come," the director tells her team.
According to CNN World, The Space Launch System (SLS) lit up and emitted up to 9 million pounds of thrust to send itself from the launch pad and into the air.
On top of the rocket, the Orion spacecraft broke away, flying through the Earth's orbit alone for the remainder of its mission.
The SLS rocket is dubbed as the most powerful rocket to ever reach the orbit of the Earth, with 15% more thrust than the Saturn V rocket.
Throughout the Artemis 1 mission, NASA engineers will watch the spacecraft's performance to evaluate whether it is ready for its first crewed mission to lunar orbit in 2024.
This launch is only one of the first steps in a long series of events leading to NASA's goal of building a permanent outpost on the moon, CNN reports.
Artemis 1 is paving the way for Artemis 2, which will finally have astronauts on board, and the Artemis 3, which expects to land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.
Read More: NASA Artemis I MIssion: Why the Moon Again?
The Artemis Program Is Named For Apollo's Legacy
NASA's Artemis program was named after Apollo's twin sister as it blends history and a promise of the future for generations to come.
Following Apollo 10's goal to land on the moon, Artemis 1 also tipped off from the same launching pad hoping that it can also put people on the moon like its twin 50 years later.
However, the mission did not come without any of its own problems as the Artemis 1 team also encountered a bunch of setbacks, including technical issues and two hurricanes.
According to Space, during its previous launch attempts, the SLS upper stage fueling process experienced a leak in the liquid hydrogen replenishment valve.
Following that, a separate issue regarding an ethernet switch at a radar site prompted a no-go order until a replacement was found.
An initial launch attempt on August 29 was even postponed due to a glitch in the cooling process in one of the four main engines of the rocket.
Despite these problems, nothing held the Artemis 1 mission from starting its exploration to the moon with its powerful and modern spacecraft.
While NASA keeps its hope that the journey of the Artemis 1 mission becomes a pivotal milestone and success, it recognizes that something could always go wrong, Space says.
Related Article: NASA Artemis I Rocket Returns to Launchpad After Delays from Glitches, Weather
