Watch as Artemis 1's Orion capsule flies by the moon Monday morning - Space.com

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NASA's Artemis 1 ngo volition get successful the moon's vicinity connected Monday greeting (Nov. 21), and you tin travel the epic enactment live.

Artemis 1's uncrewed Orion capsule has been cruising toward the satellite since Wednesday greeting (Nov. 16), erstwhile it launched atop NASA's gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Orion volition yet scope the moon connected Monday morning, skimming conscionable 80 miles (130 kilometers) oregon truthful supra the lunar aboveground astatine 7:44 a.m. EST (1244 GMT), if each goes according to plan. During that adjacent approach, the capsule volition occurrence its main motor successful a "powered flyby burn," which volition acceptable it connected people to participate lunar orbit 4 days later.

Artemis 1 squad members volition explicate and sermon the important maneuver during a webcast that starts Monday astatine 7:15 a.m. EST (1215 GMT). Watch it unrecorded present astatine Space.com, courtesy of NASA, oregon directly via the abstraction agency (opens successful caller tab).

Artist's illustration of the Artemis 1 Orion capsule adjacent the moon.

Artemis 1 is the archetypal ngo of NASA's Artemis program of lunar exploration, which aims to acceptable up a crewed probe basal connected the satellite by the extremity of the 2020s, among different objectives. The Artemis 1 liftoff besides marked the debut of the SLS, the astir almighty rocket ever to motorboat successfully.

Monday's pain volition acceptable up different important maneuver connected Nov. 25: an motor firing designed to insert Orion into a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) astir the moon. The capsule volition enactment successful the DRO — a unchangeable way that volition instrumentality it arsenic acold arsenic 40,000 miles (64,000 km) from the lunar aboveground — until Dec. 1, erstwhile different motor pain volition nonstop the capsule backmost toward Earth.

Orion volition travel location connected Dec. 11, hitting Earth's atmosphere astatine tremendous speeds earlier yet splashing down softly successful the Pacific Ocean disconnected the seashore of California.

If each goes good with Artemis 1, NASA volition beryllium escaped to commencement gearing up for Artemis 2, which volition nonstop astronauts astir the satellite successful 2024 oregon thereabouts.

In 2025, the bureau plans to motorboat Artemis 3, which volition enactment boots down adjacent the lunar southbound pole, the tract of the envisioned probe base. Artemis 3 volition beryllium the archetypal crewed lunar landing since the last Apollo ngo successful 1972, and the archetypal ever to enactment a pistillate and a idiosyncratic of colour down connected the moon.

Mike Wall is the writer of "Out There (opens successful caller tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a publication astir the hunt for alien life. Follow him connected Twitter @michaeldwall (opens successful caller tab). Follow america connected Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens successful caller tab) or Facebook (opens successful caller tab).

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Michael Wall is simply a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens successful caller tab) and joined the squad successful 2010. He chiefly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and subject space, but has been known to dabble successful the abstraction creation beat. His publication astir the hunt for alien life, "Out There," was published connected Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a subject writer, Michael worked arsenic a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. successful evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's grade from the University of Arizona, and a postgraduate certificate successful subject penning from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find retired what his latest task is, you tin travel Michael connected Twitter.

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