The White Home cheered the profitable launch of NASA’s first Artemis moon mission on Wednesday (Nov. 16).
Vice President Kamala Harris, who can be the chair of the Nationwide Area Council, tweeted acclaim to NASA and all concerned within the Artemis 1 mission, now flying towards the moon.
“Congratulations to @NASA and our non-public sector and worldwide companions on the launch of Artemis 1,” wrote Harris (opens in new tab). “Right this moment, America is charting a path again to the moon. This can be a landmark second for our nation and our world.”
Associated: Artemis 1 launch photos: Amazing views of NASA’s moon rocket debut (gallery)
Artemis 1 kicked off this system with a dramatic uncrewed night launch at 1:47 a.m. EST (0647 GMT), with the Space Launch System megarocket efficiently boosting the Orion spacecraft on a journey to the moon. Harris visited NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle in August to witness another launch attempt, which was known as off because of technical points.
Ought to Artemis 1 meet all of its flight goals, subsequent in line is Artemis 2, focusing on a 2024 launch with a crew that might convey Orion across the moon. The primary lunar touchdown since 1972 is tasked for Artemis 3, which can contact down in 2025 or 2026.
Harris final chaired a gathering of the Nationwide Area Council in September, when she called for more diversity within the U.S. space workforce. The White Home additionally pledged funding for a pilot program to extend coaching in space with large corporations, led by Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman and together with different manufacturers like SpaceX, Amazon and Rocket Lab.
Different latest White Home initiatives in space embody funding “Learning Lunchboxes” for communities needing further scholar help, promising extra orbital cleanup and junk prevention to handle the rising quantity of space debris, and reiterating a promise not to conduct anti-satellite testing in orbit (within the months after a November 2021 Russian test that created a swarm of items that has come close to the International Space Station and SpaceX Starlink satellites).
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a e-book about space medication. Comply with her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
