Artemis I Launch 

Artemis 1, officially Artemis I, is an ongoing unmanned Moon-orbiting mission and the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program. It is the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

The spacecraft launched on November 16th, everything went well which is a great sign for the journey to come. 

The Artemis I mission is speeding along on a 25-day journey that will loop around the moon and return to Earth on December 11. Monday, November 21 the rocket made its closest approach to the lunar surface.

While Artemis I is unmanned, it will give the US space agency an opportunity to test the Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, and the Orion spacecraft, the crew module for deep space journeys.

The main goal of the mission is to ensure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery. We need to make sure that our technology works and can function efficiently. 

In addition to sending Orion on its journey around the Moon, SLS will carry 10 small satellites that will each perform their own science and technology investigations.

These will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions. Artemis I will provide a strong foundation for manned deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and Mars before the first manned flight on Artemis II. 

NASA is under presidential orders to land humans on Mars by 2033. While this is an ambitious goal, later years like 2035 or even late 2030s seem more realistic.

Hopefully, we can get to Mars before too long and begin further exploring our universe.