Khaberni - The American Aeronautics and Space Administration "NASA" has begun a two-day countdown rehearsal, in preparation for a test to fuel its new rocket, paving the way for four astronauts to embark on a lunar orbit mission.
Commander Reid Wiseman and his team, who are currently in quarantine to avoid infection, are tasked with becoming the first humans to head to the Moon since 1972.
It was stated that the Space Launch System rocket, which is 98 meters tall, was moved to the launch pad two weeks ago, with plans to fill the rocket tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel.
The extremely cold weather has pushed the fueling and launch operations back by two days, setting the earliest possible launch date as February 8th, contingent upon the success of the planned fueling test on Monday.
The American and Canadian astronauts are scheduled to launch aboard the "Orion" capsule atop the rocket, on a journey around the Moon and then straight back to Earth to land in the Pacific Ocean, in a mission lasting about 10 days.
It is noteworthy that "NASA" sent 24 astronauts to the Moon in the "Apollo" program between 1968 and 1972, with 12 of them walking on the lunar surface.
