NASA’s subsequent moon mission commander raised his palms in celebration throughout a strong rocket engine take a look at.Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman, a NASA astronaut, was caught on video through the latest testing of the RS-25 engine that can energy future variations of the Area Launch System (SLS) rocket for moon missions.NASA captured Wiseman and his Artemis 2 crewmate Christina Koch in Mississippi at NASA’s Stennis Area Heart on March 6, and shared the astronauts having fun with the dramatic view on X (previously Twitter) a couple of days later.The dramatic, 10-minute take a look at is supposed to check the engine for excursions “on future Artemis missions to the moon and past,” NASA officers wrote in a separate press launch.Associated: NASA fires up highly effective Artemis moon rocket engine in key take a look at (video)Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman celebrates throughout a hotfire of the Area Launch System’s RS-25 engine on March 6, 2024 at NASA’s Stennis Area Heart in Mississippi. (Picture credit score: Foreground: NASA/X. Background: NASA/Danny Nowlin. Overlay: Elizabeth Howell)The RS-25 is a veteran engine sort, having been used within the house shuttle program for a technology. Flown house shuttle engines had been used on an uncrewed moon tour, Artemis 1, in 2022. The identical will occur with Artemis 2, which can launch 4 astronauts across the moon in 2025, and the long run moon-landing missions Artemis 3 and Artemis 4.Artemis 5 and later missions, nevertheless, goal to make use of new variants of the RS-25 that can have extra thrust accessible. That is a giant impetus behind the 12-test collection that’s ongoing in 2024 to certify the brand new RS-25 sort.”Engineers are accumulating take a look at knowledge to certify an up to date engine manufacturing course of, utilizing modern manufacturing methods, for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Applied sciences firm,” NASA officers wrote of the March 6 take a look at, the ninth of 12 within the deliberate collection.A full-duration RS-25 engine sizzling fireplace take a look at on March 6, 2024 at NASA’s Stennis Area Heart in Mississippi. (Picture credit score: NASA/Danny Nowlin)”Throughout the March 6 take a look at, operators fired the certification engine for 10 minutes [or] 600 seconds, longer than the period of time wanted to assist launch the SLS rocket and ship astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft into orbit,” NASA officers continued, referring to a typical eight-minute launch for SLS. The group additionally examined engine energy ranges between 80% and 113% “to check efficiency in a number of situations,” officers added.The 4 Artemis 2 astronauts are commander Wiseman, mission specialist Koch (who will develop into the primary lady to depart low Earth orbit, or LEO), NASA pilot Victor Glover (who will develop into the primary Black particular person past LEO), and Canadian Area Company mission specialist Jeremy Hansen (the primary non-American). The Artemis 2 crew. Clockwise from left: NASA mission specialist Christina Koch, NASA pilot Victor Glover, Canadian Area Company specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA commander Reid Wiseman. (Picture credit score: NASA/Josh Valcarcel)Artemis 2 and successor mission Artemis 3 had been each delayed earlier this 12 months for quite a few technical causes, with Artemis 2 pushing 9 months later to September 2025 and Artemis 3 delaying a few 12 months to September 2026. The Artemis 3 crew has not but been named by NASA.All Artemis missions goal to satisfy the daring targets of the Artemis program, which goals to determine a long-term settlement close to the moon’s south pole, the place water ice is considered considerable. The NASA-led Artemis Accords have 35 signatories that decide to following U.S.-led peaceable house exploration norms. A few of these international locations are direct contributors to Artemis by {hardware} in change for mission alternatives.