Thursday, October 1, 2026
®
The World's Local News Source®
United States (WNN) - At 6:24 PM EST, the Orion Rocket, if successful, will begin leaving Earth's atmosphere and, for the first time since 1972, carry humans outside of low Earth orbit. In this 10-day mission, four astronauts will perform a flyby of the dark side of the moon. However, what do we hope to accomplish with this mission, and what will it lead to?
One of the mission's primary goals is to test the effects of deep-space travel on the human body and psyche. As mentioned before, humanity's last foray outside low Earth orbit was in 1972. In the 54 years since then, technology has improved immensely. We can track physical metrics more accurately and easily. This will help us develop ideas about what longer-term missions may entail for health and what recovery options must be available. The fields of psychiatry and mental health have also seen a growth of ideas and concepts, so tracking the astronaut's mental health will be immensely important in combating what people may feel upon truly leaving home.
Of course, the goals of this flight are not limited to the effects on people. It is not often that the moon is manned. This will provide the opportunity for the dark side of our tidally locked sister body to be examined directly by people. The ability to take photos without communication delay should allow us to identify more geologic features, such as mountains, craters, and ancient lava flows.
Furthermore, the mission is also a systems test. This will be the first time a manned crew will be aboard a Space Launch System Rocket. This is important because the SLS can send cargo, crew, and the Orion spacecraft into orbit simultaneously. Under the assumption of success, this will demonstrate the possibility of longer manned missions, such as future in-person exploration of the Martian surface. However, what if the system fails? America is no stranger to tragedy striking astronauts, and due to this, the rocket is equipped with the Launch Abort System. If needed, this will propel the spacecraft with the astronauts away from the rocket and to safety in the event of an emergency. While a live demonstration of this system is not needed today, the LAS will still have at least one motor fire, even without an emergency. The jettison motor will activate if everything goes according to plan, moving Orion away from the rocket body to its desired height, allowing it to continue the mission.
NASA teams began fueling the rocket early in the day at 8:35 AM after a chilldown operation. With roughly 756000 gallons of propellant, this process will continue until late in the afternoon. At 4:44 PM EDT, the launch will begin airing live on public television. Until then, updates can be viewed on the NASA livestream, which began at around 7:30 AM. If everything goes according to plan, the launch will occur at 6:24 PM EDT. The planned date for the lunar flyby portion of the mission will occur on April 6, 2026, with the return and splashdown planned for April 10, 2026, on the Pacific Coast near San Diego. However, should launch conditions become non-viable, there are backup launch dates as listed:
For further WNN articles and news stories, visit https://wisenewsnetwork.com
For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork
Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com
North Carolina Press Association Member
