Artemis Postponed...But Mentors Say Going to the Moon Matters

We do not have liftoff...yet.

For weeks we’ve been seeing reporting anticipating the launch, and the hashtag #WeAreGoing has been trending. Now, this morning at 8:34am ET on hold from T-40 minutes to launch, Artemis I, the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket remains atop Launch Complex 39B . Scrubbed for the day to await engine condition troubleshooting, the Artemis launch has been postponed until September 2nd at the earliest.

But excitement remains coursing through the nation.

Because for the first time in 50 years we will be going back to the Moon.

And, in what will be a historic moment, it will be the final call of the nation’s first-ever female Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson to count us down with the commanding words “You have a go to launch Artemis I.”

Having attended a launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 2019, I remember the feeling. How the bleachers shook, smoke unfurled and the Earth seemed to growl from its core. The same sensation washed over me as I watched today's pre-launch prep on a screen, and I recalled some of the questions girls asked me at the time: Give us the fast facts: What kind of rocket? Who’s on it? Who are the women involved? What do they want us to know?

The answers to these questions applied to the rescheduled launch might be, in the words of the women leading the Artemis program, among the most exciting we have ever encountered.

First, some fast facts:

The mission duration for Artemis I will be 42 days, 3 hours and 20 minutes – give or take. Once launched, the rocket will travel 1.3 million miles and will splashdown at a re-entry speed of 24,500 miles per hour (or Mach 32). At a staggering 17 stories high, the rocket stands taller than the Statue of Liberty from base to torch.

But this mission is noteworthy not just because of speed or size. It will be the first test of the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket that will help the Orion spacecraft and cargo reach the Moon.

Why is the US going back to the Moon?

"We're going back to the Moon in preparation to go to Mars," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on CNN's New Day. "That's the difference. Fifty years ago we went to the Moon for a day, a few hours, three days max. Now we're going back to the Moon to stay, to live, to learn, to build."

The main goals for Artemis I are to “demonstrate Orion’s systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown and recovery prior to the first flight with crew on Artemis II.”

Wait, there’s no crew on this launch?

Nope. Artemis I will be uncrewed – the first step in a series of missions that will allow for long-term human presence on the Moon. This initial step will be unmanned, with sensor-packed mannequins collecting data instead. It’s going where people haven't gone before and NASA wants to know how things react to deep space before sending people to the lunar surface.

What kind of rocket is it?

The SLS rocket is designed for missions that go beyond low-Earth orbit (think 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station) and that carry cargo to the Moon and beyond. It’s strong (it can lift a vehicle weighing close to 6 million pounds into orbit) and it’s fast (it can reach its greatest atmospheric force in the first 90 seconds).

It’s called a mega-Moon rocket for a reason, and those working closely with its technical components are openly moved by the enormity of the project. “Artemis means so much to me,” confides Kaylee Geidel, a Redwire Space Systems Engineer, “because it has been half a century since we have been to the Moon and an entire generation has missed out on the wonder and inspiration of human deep space travel."

"Getting to work with Redwire on the Orion Camera System, which serves as the eyes of this mission ," concludes Geidel, "has allowed me to play a small role in bringing that wonder to a new generation.”

“The Artemis mission is key,” agrees Jody Singer, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director, “not only for our nation but for our people. Because being able to go to the surface of the Moon – where we haven’t been for over 50 years – and to do that with the first woman and the first person of color, is just amazing.”

When will there be a crew on board?

When Artemis 2 launches, likely in May of 2024. After the initial test of Artemis I later this fall, Artemis 2 will bring a human crew on what’s called a lunar flyby , entering the Moon’s orbit and returning to Earth within 8 to 10 days. Once completed, Artemis 3 will bring a crew of astronauts – including, as Singer noted, the first woman and first person of color - to the surface of the Moon for a longer stay.

In 1969, when the Apollo mission first took that “giant leap for mankind” there was just one woman in the firing room out of over 400 engineers supporting the launch.

Now, there will be 30.?

“The next set of boot prints that are left on the moon by our astronauts will belong to a woman or person of color,” says Launch Director Blackwell-Thompson. “There are no boundaries, there are no limits.”

Who are some other women behind the Artemis program?

In addition to those mentioned above, think Sharon Cobb, who led the team that designed and built the SLS, Laura Poliah, who helped build the Orion capsule carried by the SLS, and Stephanie Wilson, a NASA astronaut who might fly on one of the later missions.

What do they want us to know?

Recently interviewed on TODAY , here are a few excerpts from the Artemis team for tomorrow’s astronauts to keep in mind:

“[W]hat strikes many of us is that the strife that might be happening around the world is not visible from space. So the borders of countries are not visible…To us, it appears as one unified world, one unified entity.” – Stephanie Wilson

“[Going to the Moon will be] one giant leap for humankind. As you can see here today, there’s some very talented women. And this is very representative of what the entire Artemis program is about.” – Sharon Cobb

“It’s inspiring for me to see that [watching Blackwell-Thompson as the first female Launch Director], to know that there is no ceiling for us that we can go wherever we put our minds to.” – Laura Poliah

No borders of countries. No ceilings of any kind.

Just a universe of infinite possibilities.

And today's scrubbed launch adds an extra mentorship moment - even the space program professionals pivot. Even the best-laid plans need reconfiguring now and then, and the role models to watch know how to make those calls with authority and regroup.

That's how we defy gravity.

That's how we ensure a team's future success.

We don't have liftoff just yet. But we have epic mentors at the helm to get us there.

Looking forward,

Illana

êXTRAS: Three sites you don't want to miss as we wait for the rescheduled launch: NASA's Blog with up-to-the-minute launch developments, NASA’s Artemis Special site with extra Artemis details, and NASA's STEM resources for college students to explore scholarships, competitions and more!

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