NASA has finally launched its Artemis 1 mission on a 26-day mission around the Moon.

But where is it now and when is set to land? Here’s the latest.

Artemis 1 is embarked on a 26-day mission around the Moon

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Artemis 1 is embarked on a 26-day mission around the MoonCredit: Alamy

Where is Artemis 1 now?

Nasa has continued to provide updates of the Orion spacecraft’s progress via social media and blog posts.

They will keep a close eye on the Artemis 1 mission as it shoots away from Earth in case it still needs to be aborted.

Artemis I isn’t a crewed mission but it needs to loop around the Moon to test three key components.

These are Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS), its Orion spacecraft, and the European Service Module (ESM).

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At the time of writing, Nasa confirmed that Orion spacecraft is flying on towards the moon, having now completed a crucial correction to its destination.

In their latest update on November 17, Nasa said that Orion had performed a second outbound trajectory burn using auxiliary thrusters.

It came just a day after investigators checked in with 10 cubesats that were deployed from the Space Launch System rocket upper stage.

Nasa’s Johnson Space Center say they will host a briefing previewing the next set of maneuverers required to enter distant retrograde orbit on November 18.

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When will Artemis 1 land on the moon?

The Orion spacecraft and the ESM should get within 62 miles of the lunar surface and then travel 40,000 miles beyond this.

However, it’s not expected to land.

Once looping around the dark side of the Moon, the rocket should land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

The entire mission is expected to be completed in the space of 26 days – with a provisional landing date penned in as December 11.  

When was the Artemis 1 launch?

The rocket blasted off in the early hours of November 16, 2022.

The rocket missed its initial 1:04am ET (6:04am GMT) launch time but blasted off at around 1:47am ET.

The US Space Agency’s Administrator Bill Nelson said it was the biggest shockwave he’d seen from a launch.

Nasa say this mission is important for humankind as it aims to put people back on the Moon.

It’s hoped Artemis 2 will carry humans around the Moon in the next couple of years.

Both missions are building up to Artemis 3, which aims to put the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.

Nasa says it has now started “a new chapter in human lunar exploration.”

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Once the Artemis missions get humans to the Moon, it’s hoped that we’ll be able to reach Mars.

Exploring the lunar surface and its resources could aid in creating a moonbase for humans and a more efficient way to launch deep space rockets.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk

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