Artemis I was an uncrewed
Moon-orbiting mission that was launched on November 16, 2022. It was the first major spaceflight of
NASA's
Artemis program and marked the agency's return to lunar exploration since the
Apollo program after five decades. It was the first flight test of the
Orion spacecraft and the
Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the mission's main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft in preparation for future Artemis missions. Artemis I was launched from
Launch Complex 39B at the
Kennedy Space Center. After reaching
orbit, the upper stage separated and performed a trans-lunar injection before releasing Orion and ten
CubeSat satellites. Orion completed one
flyby of the
Moon on November 21 and completed a second flyby on December 5. This picture shows Artemis I launching from Launch Complex 39B.
Photograph credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
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