China News Service, November 16 (Chen Caixia) In the early morning of the 16th local time, the US moon landing rocket "Space Launch System" was launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After many launch delays, the US finally took the step to return to the moon. The first step of the plan.

Image source: NASA official website screenshot

smooth lift off

  In the early morning of November 16, local time, as the countdown was completed, the lunar landing rocket "Space Launch System" (SLS) carrying the "Orion" spacecraft was successfully launched at the Kennedy Space Center.

  The long-awaited launch came after multiple delays and put America's dream of returning to the moon on the back burner.

Some 100,000 people are expected to watch the launch from shore, with the rocket lighting up the night sky as it lifts off.

  According to the British Sky News Network, the "Space Launch System" carrying the "Orion" spacecraft is the most powerful rocket in the history of NASA.

In space, it will deploy 10 CubeSats to perform a variety of jobs in deep space, ranging from studying how radiation affects DNA to finding water or ice on the moon.

The mission will last about 25 days.

  Astronaut Kayla Barron said: "We're going back to the moon, and this time we're going to stay...we're going to have habitats, rovers, all the infrastructure to support scientific discovery and the next step to Mars." step."

The launch has been postponed 4 times

  Before this launch, the lunar landing rocket "Artemis 1" had missed launch opportunities 4 times due to various reasons.

  NASA originally set the launch date on August 29, but 40 minutes before launch, NASA called off the launch due to a problem with the exhaust of one of the rocket's engines, which prevented the engine from reaching the temperature range suitable for launch.

  On September 3, three hours before launch, NASA stated that there was a leak when delivering fuel to the rocket. The mission team tried to solve this problem but failed, so it decided to postpone the launch.

  On September 26, NASA announced that due to the impact of Hurricane "Ian", the moon landing rocket was withdrawn from the launch pad.

  On November 8th, NASA announced again that due to the influence of tropical storm "Nicole", the launch plan of the new generation of moon landing rocket "Space Launch System" originally scheduled for the 14th was postponed to the 16th again to ensure the best launch. condition.

  It is reported that "Artemis" is a new moon landing plan announced by the US government in 2019. It originally planned to send American astronauts to the moon again by 2024.

Due to insufficient budget and other reasons, NASA announced in November last year that the return of American astronauts to the moon may be delayed by one year than originally planned, and land on the moon as early as 2025.

  Before the astronauts land, NASA plans to conduct an unmanned flight test around the moon code-named "Artemis 1" and a manned flight test around the moon code-named "Artemis 2".

Why is the United States going back to the moon?

  Since "Apollo 17" left the moon in 1972, it has been nearly half a century since the United States left the moon.

Why is the United States now spending huge sums of money to launch the "Artemis" program to return to the moon?

  As early as the beginning of the 21st century, the United States proposed the Constellation program to return to the moon.

But NASA has been vacillating between the moon and Mars, unable to determine whether to land on Mars first or return to the moon.

At the same time, NASA cannot afford the huge expenses required to carry out two projects at the same time.

  In 2010, former US President Barack Obama canceled plans to return to the moon, emphasizing the importance of going to Mars.

But then, in order to show the difference from his predecessor Obama, Trump proposed the ambitious "Artemis" plan, preparing to send American astronauts back to the moon in 2024.

  For Trump, an important reason is that the development of aerospace technology has a continuous stimulating effect on the economy. It can not only directly create jobs, but also bring technological upgrades in related fields, which can bring tangible returns.

  "Building American Leadership on the Moon and Demonstrating American Presence" clarifies the political significance of returning to the moon.

The competition faced by other countries in the United States is also an important reason for the United States to accelerate the implementation of the moon program.

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