NASA is on a new mission back to the Moon called the Artemis. The rocket vehicle to deliver Artemis I, is called the Space Launch System (SLS) which is the biggest rocket since the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo program during the late 60s and 70s era. NASA says, “Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex mission that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.” The SLS will be the most powerful rocket that NASA has ever built. The SLS is capable of sending more than 27 metric tons (59,000 pounds) to the Moon. Standing at over 98 meters (322 ft) tall, the SLS is the second tallest rocket NASA has ever developed (Saturn V at 363 ft), and weighing as much as 8.8 million pounds.
The Artemis I and the Orion Spacecraft are ready to launch out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late May from the SLS Launch Pad 39B, but there is potential for minor delays extending the launch outward into early June. The goal of the Artemis is to establish the first long-term human presence on the Moon, and to learn as much as we can to plan human space fight missions to Mars.