The Artemis space program is sending four astronauts on a loop around the moon
It's a program that began during Donald Trump's first administration. For the first time since 1970
And it will be the first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years
Over 10 days, its crew will study their own health in the harsh weightlessness of space
and photograph the moon from a few hundred kilometers away. The mission aims to prove the journey can be practical for humans
and eventually can land people on the moon again, a goal China is also pursuing
Artemis is a U.S. project with international support. Europe, Japan, the United Arab Emirates are all involved
Canada built a robotic arm and gave it an astronaut. The moon holds few guaranteed resources or security advantages
It is a possible source for a fuel that could drive future nuclear power
but it could be a stepping stone to explore the solar system. The moon has always been a distant prize
The Soviet Union took the first photo of it from space in 1959
And then in the late 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union raced to land their robots
and put their satellites into its orbit. But all of that was just the beginning
Over four wild years 12 humans bounced and drove across its surface And then the moon was quiet for decades until the early 2000s when a new space race kicked off Major powers sent more probes China landed six
and sent pieces of the moon back to Earth. And now private companies are getting there too
70 years of lunar exploration, roughly divided into two chapters. The U.S. space agency NASA has had a tumultuous year. The White House Budget Office proposed
major cuts, but the Congress voted to maintain funding. Staff departures have been high
In March, Administrator Jared Isaacman promised to build a U.S. moon base within the next seven
years for $20 billion. The request came days after media reports said the Pentagon wanted
$200 billion to fund the Iran war. The vehicle's ready, the system is ready
the crew is ready, and behind this flight stands a campaign. Landings, a lunar base
a nuclear propulsion into deep space, that begins, not ends, with what happens on Wednesday evening
If the mission succeeds, these four astronauts will go farther from home
than any humans before them, around the far side of the moon
They'll be blocked from all communication from Earth while they're there. And for a few hours
they'll be totally cut off from the world below. Then they'll return to it
to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. Colin Baker, Al Jazeera