Artemis I moon rocket at Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States

The universe is calling. World Space Week begins

First, you build a rocket. Then you ask it to leave Earth, fly to the moon, survive the trip and bring its spacecraft home. Simple, right? Well, not quite. World Space Week, observed every 4-10 October, celebrates the science that makes missions like this possible. The United Nations established the observance in 1999 to commemorate Sputnik 1's launch on 4 October 1957, and the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty on 10 October 1967. This year's theme, 'Rocket Revolution,' focuses on the evolving technology driving space exploration.

Seen in today's image, Artemis I put plenty of that technology to work. On 16 November 2022, NASA launched an uncrewed Orion spacecraft aboard the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States. Orion flew around the moon, covering about 2.3 million kilometres over 25.5 days. No astronauts climbed aboard this time. That was the point. Artemis I had one job: prove the system could make the journey before people took the next one.