CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WHNT) — For more than a decade, NASA has been developing a Rocket to get humans back to the Moon and later Mars, the Space Launch System (SLS).

The Artemis program was ready to take the next step, closer to settling the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface. Artemis I will be a 42-day unmanned mission to test all systems of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft before launching with a crew.

But what does that mean?

THE PROGRAM

NASA chose the name Artemis for the agency’s return to the moon due to the fact that in Greek mythology Artemis is the moon goddess and sister of Apollo.

THE ROCKET

The SLS took the best of the Saturn V rocket created for the Apollo program and the best of the Space Shuttle to make NASA’s new mega moon rocket.

It consists of five main parts:

• Core Stage – Contains the flight computers as well as the two fuel tanks for liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen that will power the RS-25 engines
• 4 RS-25 engines – The same engines used on the Space Shuttle. The four engines are capable of producing over 2 million pounds of thrust and will fire for eight and a half minutes
• 2 Solid Rocket Boosters – The same boosters that were used on the Space Shuttle with more boost capabilities. Powered by a solid thruster, they will sit on either side of the center stage and produce nearly 3.5 million pounds of thrust for approximately one minute
• Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) – Fueled by liquid oxygen and nitrogen, will send the crew capsule out of Earth orbit and towards the moon
• Orion Spacecraft – Capable of holding four astronauts, the capsule has a 16.5-foot ablative heat shield similar to the Apollo capsule. Will send crews into space and bring them back safely

The rocket is 322 feet tall and can be upgraded as mission requirements change.

THE START

NASA has set the first launch attempt for 7:33 a.m. CDT on August 29.

On August 18, the rocket will depart the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and make the four-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B traveling at just one mile per hour. Once there, the rocket will take around 10 days to be ready for launch.

On launch day, NASA teams will follow a schedule, making sure to hit key milestones and that conditions remain safe. The countdown begins almost two days before launch, fuel begins to flow into the rocket eight hours and 40 minutes before, and 15 minutes before liftoff, the launch director will ask his team if the systems are “ready” for the start.

There’s a lot going on with 10 minutes countdown. The RS-25 engines start 6.36 seconds before liftoff, when the countdown reaches zero, the Solid Rocket Boosters ignite, then Artemis I departs.

If there is no launch on August 29, the next attempts will take place on September 2 and 5.

THE MISSION

Shortly after the SLS leaves the launch pad, the rocket will start dropping parts as the fuel runs out. The two Solid Rocket Boosters will drop approximately two minutes after launch to land in the Atlantic Ocean while the core stage will separate approximately eight and a half minutes after launch to land in the Pacific Ocean.

The ICPS will cruise for approximately two hours and set the Orion spacecraft on course for the moon. It will take Orion several days to reach the moon, but once there it will stay in high orbit for two weeks.

Orbiting the Moon, NASA has several goals it plans to achieve in space, including making sure the spacecraft is performing as it should, testing the radiation conditions inside the capsule and test communications between Earth and Orion.

As part of the mission, 10 tiny satellites known as CubeSats will be launched on their way to the moon. Each CubeSat is about the size of a cereal box and weighs less than 30 pounds and each has a different scientific mission.

GO HOME

Of everything launched at the start of the mission, the only thing that will return at the end will be the Orion capsule.

20 minutes before Orion enters Earth’s atmosphere, it will detach from the Service Module and bow with the heat shield facing Earth. On re-entry the capsule will reach speeds of around 25,000 miles per hour and through a series of parachutes it will slow down enough to land off California it will reach the Pacific Ocean at a nice gentle speed of 20 mph.

Crews will be ready in the water, on boats, helicopters and Navy ships, ready to get to the capsule as soon as it lands.

NASA chief astronaut Reid Wiseman said there are 42 active astronauts and 10 astronaut candidates who have the potential to walk on the moon. He added that there could be an announcement of the Artemis II crew by the end of 2022.