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NASA returning to the Moon with mega rocket launch

"Our time is coming. And we hope that that is on Wednesday," said Mike Sarafin, the manager of the much-delayed Artemis 1 mission, at NASA headquarters. The weather promises to be favorable, with an 80 percent chance of launch during a two hour window that begins at 1:04 am local time (0604 GMT). As expected, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA's first female launch director, gave her go-ahead on Tuesday afternoon to begin fueling operations.

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If takeoff happens Wednesday, the mission will last 25 and a half days, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on December 11. NASA is banking on a successful mission after developing the SLS rocket for more than a decade. It will have invested more than $90 billion in its new lunar program by the end of 2025, according to a public audit.