NASA to send spacecraft to moon for first time since 1972

This week NASA announced that next month, after nearly five decades, it would return a spacecraft back to the moon.

The mission will mark the first time NASA has sent a spacecraft to the moon since the astronauts of the Apollo 17 program visited the lunar surface in December 1973. 

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free revealed the space agency’s upcoming mission on Jul. 20, which marks the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. 

“It's a special day, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing 53 years ago. It's really great to talk about this test flight to begin our Artemis program to go back to the moon,” Free said. 

NASA’s website reports that the Artemis 1 craft “will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and eventually Mars.”

The agency said that Artemis 1 will be “the first in a series of increasingly complex missions."