Artemis I moon rocket at Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, USA, June 15, 2022

The universe is calling. World Space Week begins

First, you build a rocket. Then you ask it to leave Earth, fly to the moon, survive the trip and bring its spacecraft home. Simple, right? Well, not quite. World Space Week, observed every October 4–10, celebrates the science that makes missions like this possible. The United Nations established the observance in 1999 to commemorate Sputnik 1's launch on October 4, 1957, and the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty on October 10, 1967. This year's theme, 'Rocket Revolution,' focuses on the evolving technology driving space exploration.

Seen in today's image, Artemis I put plenty of that technology to work. On November 16, 2022, NASA launched an uncrewed Orion spacecraft aboard the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Centre. Orion flew around the moon, covering approximately 2.25 million kilometres over 25.5 days. No astronauts climbed aboard this time. That was the point. Artemis I had one job: prove the system could make the journey before people took the next one.