- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
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- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
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- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
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- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
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- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Top seed Sabalenka stunned by Muchova in Beijing last eight
NASA's new Moon rocket to launch as soon as August 29
Mark your calendars: NASA's Artemis program to return to the Moon could launch its first uncrewed test flight as soon as August 29, the agency said Wednesday.
Artemis-1 is the first in a series of missions as the United States seeks to return humans to the Moon, build a sustained presence there, and use the lessons gained to plan a trip to Mars sometime in the 2030s.
NASA associate administrator Jim Free told reporters the first window of possible launch dates for the giant Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew capsule were August 29, September 2, and September 5.
The decision follows final checks on the ground at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida known as "wet dress rehearsals."
The last of these tests, carried out in June, met 90 percent of the team's goals, and on Wednesday Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, said engineers have now replaced faulty seals that had caused a hydrogen leak on SLS during the final trial.
Artemis-1 is set to journey around the far side of the Moon in a mission lasting four to six weeks -- longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking, before returning home faster and hotter than every vessel before.
It will also deploy a number of small satellites called CubeSats to perform experiments in space.
Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin told reporters: "Our first and our primary objective is to demonstrate Orion's heat shield in lunar reentry conditions."
When the capsule returns from the Moon, it will be traveling about 24,500 miles an hour (39,400 kilometers per hour) and experience temperatures half as hot as the Sun outside its heat shield.
The second objective is to demonstrate the flight worthiness of the rocket and crew capsule as they perform all their maneuvers over the course of the mission.
Finally, NASA will look to successfully retrieve Orion after splashdown, and thoroughly inspect it.
Artemis-2 will be the first crewed test, flying around the Moon but not landing, while Artemis-3 will see the first woman and first person of color touch down on the lunar south pole.
A.F.Rosado--PC