11 fascinating facts about our Milky Way galaxyĪrtemis III is expected to bring people to the moon no earlier than 2025, according to (opens in new tab). Space oddity: 10 bizarre things Earthlings launched into space 5 strange, cool things we've recently learned about the moon The agency has also said that a single RS-25 engine could generate enough power for 846,591 miles (1,362,456 kilometers) of residential street lights - a length of street that would reach the moon and back and then circle Earth 15 times. With Block 2, this will be upped to an astounding 9.2 million pounds (4.2 million kg) of thrust, 20% more than the Saturn V and the equivalent horsepower of 208,000 Corvette engines. Under its Block 1 configuration, the SLS’s engines will provide an equivalent horsepower to 160,000 Corvette engines, according to NASA (opens in new tab). The boosters will burn approximately 6 US tons (5.4 metric tons) of polybutadiene acrylonitrile propellant every second, and they are the largest and most powerful solid boosters ever built. Each of these stands 177 ft (54 m) tall - about the height of a 17-story building - and is capable of delivering 3.6 million pounds (1.6 million kg) of thrust, according to NASA (opens in new tab). The RS-25s will be supplemented by two solid rocket boosters attached to the side of the core module. RS-25 rockets are powered by 730,000 gallons (3.3 million liters) of supercooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, according to (opens in new tab). These veteran pieces of space hardware have been overhauled with new computer controllers and upgrades to ensure they can handle the higher performance demands of a Mega Moon rocket launch. The RS-25 was originally used to launch the space shuttle, and NASA currently has 16 of them on hand to use for different SLS missions.

The workhorse of the Artemis program is the RS-25 rocket engines, four of which sit at the bottom of the Mega Moon rocket’s core stage.

(Image credit: NASA) It's got powerful engines The rocket will be capable of delivering crews and material to Mars, and should enable exploration of almost anywhere in the solar system.Īn image of NASA's Mega Moon rocket as it rolled out to the launch pad for the first time in March, 2022. The Block 2 configuration, which will have an additional upper stage to deliver more thrust and a larger area for payloads, will stand 365 ft (111 m) tall and be able to bring more than 50 tons (46,000 kg) to the lunar surface, according to NASA (opens in new tab). While this is slightly less than the Saturn V carried, less of the Mega Moon rocket’s carrying capacity will be wasted on the different rocket stages and fuel, which will make it an overall better cargo mover, according to (opens in new tab).įuture versions of SLS will be even mightier. SLS will be able to haul more than 30 tons (27,000 kg) to the moon. of thrust, according to the Houston space center (opens in new tab). of thrust, 15% more than the Saturn V’s 7.5 million pounds (3.4 million kg) of thrust, and even surpassing the space shuttle system’s 7.8 million pounds (3.5 million kg). But SLS will be capable of delivering 8.8 million pounds (4 million kg). This means that it will actually be slightly shorter than the Saturn V, which was 363 ft (110.5 m) tall.

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