PEARLINGTON, Mississippi — NASA’s Artemis moon rocket passed a big test Thursday as it readies for a trip to the moon.
All four engines fired up at the Stennis Space Center, rumbling the ground under eager spectators at the Louisiana/Mississippi state line.
“It was more than I expected,” said Nelson Thornton. He and some others watched at the Mississippi Welcome Center off of Highway 607, about three miles from Stennis.
It was close enough for the cosmically-inclined to hear the rumbling and watch a huge steam cloud rising in the sky.
The steam cloud was even visible from our WWL-TV Skycam in New Orleans.
“It’s more fun in person. It’s more fun in person because you get the feel of it. TV’s TV, you know,” said Thornton.
NASA fired all four engines up to certify them for space flight and gather data. The Artemis program has big plans for a lunar return.
In a video posted to NASA’s Twitter feed after the test, NASA Acting Administrator, Steve Jurczyk said,
“So, what does this mean for our plans? Well this is a major milestone in advancing our goals and objectives to land the first woman and the next man on the surface of the moon.”
The hot-fire test lasted 8 minutes and 19 seconds. That was long enough for NASA to gather the data it needs, and for amateur astronomers, like Livingston Mulheisen, to get excited about what’s to come.
“It’s progress. It’s the future,” said Livingston Muhleisen, a photographer and member of the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society. “If you don’t try to do something then it’ll never get done.”
RELATED: Mysterious space object in our solar system believed to be piece of nitrogen-covered planet\
