NASA plans to launch the Artemis I mission on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida
It is sending the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule on a more than month-long journey around the moon
The American space agency is targeting liftoff on August 29 between 8:33 a.m. ET and 10:33 am (ET)
Artemis I will not carry astronauts, nor land on the moon
The mission is critical to demonstrating that NASA‘s monster rocket and deep space capsule can deliver on their promised abilities
Artemis I will travel about 1.3 million miles over the course of 42 days, spanning several phases
It’s the first mission in NASA’s Artemis program, which is expected to land the agency’s astronauts on the moon by its third mission in 2025
NASA plans to fly Orion as close as 60 miles above the moon’s surface, before moving into a wide orbit around the lunar body
To return, Orion will use the moon’s gravity to assist it in setting a trajectory back into Earth’s orbit
Orion is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California