'This is Big:' Scientists near and far excited for historic Artemis launch
In just a few days until NASA's historic Artemis launch and scientists are both nervous and excited for the mission.
"This is big, this is the biggest thing we have ever launched, so buckle up this is going to be a fun ride," Jacob Bleacher said.
Bleacher is NASA's Chief Exploration Scientist, he says this mission while unmanned is a huge step toward greater human exploration of the moon and beyond.
"It will collect the data we need to know if we are good to go for our next mission, Artemis 2, which will have the crew members on board," he said.
The rocket itself is something to watch.
CU Professor of Aerospace Engineering Iain Boyd says is the largest ever launched by the U.S.
"It's bigger than the Saturn V rocket that took Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and all the great astronauts to the moon and back," Boyd said.
On top of that rocket is the Orion space capsule built by scientists at Lockheed Martin in Colorado.
It will travel more than a million miles, circling the moon and capturing scientific data along the way to be used in future missions.
"The last lunar landing was in the late 70s so that was 50 years ago. NASA's vision is to go back to the moon and on to mars. The idea is to establish a permanent presence on the moon, which we have never done before," Boyd says.
After several weeks in orbit, Orion is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, once again testing its heat shield.
CBS4 was there in 2014 when that capsule made its first exploration flight.
The safe return of that spacecraft will be a green light for the next mission with astronauts on board.
"I really want to see this Orion Capsule come home and you know hopefully It will go perfect and we are ready to go," Bleacher said.
CBS News Colorado will live stream the entire Artemis launch, blastoff is scheduled to happen sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
