CAPE CORAL, Fla. — History is happening in Florida with NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket launch Monday morning at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
The mission is just the beginning of what's to come in NASA’s future.
The unmanned Orion Spacecraft will journey around the moon for 42 days.
If the test flight goes as planned in just two years, NASA could send the first woman and first person of color to the moon.
While no astronauts will be on board, NASA says 3 mannequins will make the trip as a way for scientists to observe how the rocket's thrust and the trip may take a toll on the human body.
Astronauts have not made this journey since 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.
The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever launched.
According to NASA it stands 32 stories tall and weighs nearly 6 million pounds.
We spoke to NASA Orion Crew Survival Systems project manager Dustin Gohmert about what this launch means for the future of science and technology.
"You pull out your cell phone today, without the advancements NASA has made, none of that technology would be possible. All the GPS use that we use. Different research that goes on in the ISS right now leads to advancement in cures for diseases here on earth, you could just go on and on about the things we've learned. For the small advancement in space, it pays off in dividends for us."
If this flight goes well, NASA will send astronauts aboard Artemis 2 in 2024 for a flight around the moon.
"It allows us to go beyond collecting lunar samples and to live in these environments. To utilize the resources that are available on the moon to be able to expand our presence even beyond the moon to mars and maybe even one day beyond that. It will be a series of stepping stones, but this will be the first of many very important ones."
