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Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, at left, performs the traditional cutting of the tie for Assistant Launch Director Jeremy Graeber after the successful liftoff of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 16, 2022. Liftoff was at 1:47 a.m. EST. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown