NASA's first Artemis mission to the moon has been given the go-ahead for launch next Monday, 29 August, using rockets made by Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), Airbus Group (EPA:AIR), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT).
The first flight will be an uncrewed test flight, which was approved overnight by the US space agency's Flight Readiness committee last night for a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 am Eastern Time (1.33pm BST) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It will pave the way for NASA's to land astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972's Apollo 17 mission, over half a century since Neil Armstrong took his steps on the lunar surface in 1969.
Next Monday's blast-off will be the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which when it launches will be the world’s most powerful rocket, able to carry more payload to deep space than any other vehicle.
Artemis 1 comes at an estimated cost to the US taxpayer of US$20-30bn but in a new twist inspired by rival private space companies, is designed to be 'evolvable'.
This means the design will be adapted to fly more types of missions, including human missions to the moon and Mars and robotic scientific missions to more distant planets, the SLS launch opens the door to a new era of space travel for the planet.
But it could soon also be eclipsed in size and power and 'evolvability' by SpaceX's Starship, which is due to launch its first orbital flights in "probably between 1 and 12 months from now", according boss Elon Musk earlier this month.
While SLS can carry a payload capacity of 190,000 lbs (86 tons) with its 9.5mln pounds of thrust, while Starship will be able to launch 300,000 lbs (150 tons) of capacity and produces 17mln lbs of thrust.
SpaceX rockets have dramatically brought down the cost of getting into space thanks as they are reusable, with one of the current model Falcon 9 rocket boosters having returned to Earth and back into space a total of 13 times.
As a result of these developments by SpaceX and other competitors such as RocketLab, the cost of sending a kilo of equipment into space has come down to US$1,000, from about US$80,000.
Startship’s huge size allied to the reduced total cost of launch means the total cost per unit carried is expected to be further reduced, which is predicted to open significant possibilities to the industry.
These lower costs have combined with growing investment in space from private companies, sparking the emergence of small but growing presence of funds focused on the space industry, led by the Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ:UFO) and its sister fund Procure Space UCITS ETF (LSE:YODA), along with space technology specialist Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSIT).