Artemis I Liftoff Activities

Inside Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Artemis I launch team members and Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at right, celebrate the successful launch of the agency’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft from Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 16, 2022. Liftoff was at 1:47 a.m. EST. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

Inside Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Artemis I launch team members and Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at right, celebrate the successful launch of the agency’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft from Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 16, 2022. Liftoff was at 1:47 a.m. EST. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

Photographer NASA/Kim Shiflett
Album Artemis_I_Launch
Exploration Ground SystemsEGSArtemisArtemis ISpace Launch SystemSLSOrionKennedy Space CenterKSCLaunch Pad 39BMoonMoon to MarsHuman Exploration