![]() ![]() But it's not the size that matters: SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and currently the most powerful in the world. The new rocket is 98 metres tall (roughly 29 storeys), coming in just under the 110 metres of the Saturn V that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon. "We're really getting close to being able to do that." How big is the rocket? "That's the point where we'll be in a good position as an agency to set a launch date," Whitmeyer said. (credit: NASA) Charon Charon is the largest moon of Pluto, and in fact is the largest moon relative to its parent body in our solar systemfrom Pluto’s surface it would loom ominously in the sky. NASA will then analyze work for just over a week during post-test operations and then will roll SLS back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for actual launch preparations. The moon was discovered in 1978it is that little blob off the edge of Pluto in the telescope photo at upper leftand finally studied in detail in 2015. The reason for that is two-fold: firstly, it's much larger than the rockets that launched the shuttles and secondly, it has two core stages compared to the external tank that launched the shuttles. The process of loading the fuel will take about eight hours, which is considerably longer than the two-hour loading process of the space shuttle's rocket. They will then roll back to the T–10 minute count and replicate a launch abort. Though SLS will roll out on Thursday, NASA said in a news conference that it isn't expected to load the propellants until April 3 and then go through its operations and countdown. NASA is rolling the SLS out to the launch pad in order to run through tests. Why are they rolling it out to the launch pad? Here are some things to know about this first step that will return humans to the moon. NASA's TV coverage of the rollout begins at 5 p.m. "Thursday's going to be a day to remember." And to be here for a new generation of a super-heavy lift, exploration class vehicle," Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for NASA's exploration systems development division, said last week during a news conference. "The rolling out of the VAB, that's really an iconic moment for this vehicle. NASA said it could take anywhere between four and 12 hours to travel the 6.5 kilometres from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the launch pad. It will be a momentous occasion when the massive orange and white rocket rolls out on the crawler first used for the Apollo missions and later for the space shuttle missions. From there, an observer during an eclipse would see all of Earth's sunrises and sunsets at once.The Space Launch System (SLS) also consists of two solid rocket boosters which may seem familiar: They were used on NASA's space shuttle missions until the program ended in 2011. This is because the only remaining sunlight reaching the Moon at that point is from around the edges of the Earth, as seen from the Moon's surface. Learn more in our special eclipses section.ĭuring some stages of a lunar eclipse, the Moon can appear reddish. ![]() A partial lunar eclipse happens when only part of Earth's shadow covers the Moon.A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of Earth.Gravity Assist Podcast: What's so Special About the Moon?ĭuring a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight from falling on the Moon.Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The program takes its name from the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. ![]() The Artemis program will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon and develop a sustainable human presence on the Moon and set the stage for further human exploration of Mars. Now NASA is gearing up to set up a permanent lunar presence on the Moon. ![]()
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