Moon rocket rolls out to the launch pad

NASA’s giant new lunar rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday in preparation for astronauts’ first trip around the moon in more than half a century. The Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo extensive testing before three American and one Canadian astronauts board the vessel for the first crewed mission near the moon since Apollo 17 landed in 1972. The 10-day mission will launch no earlier than Feb. 6.

Class discussion: Why are we going back to the moon? Should we try to build a permanent base on the moon? What would be its purpose? Should we send astronauts to Mars? How much do crewed spaceflights cost compared with unmanned flights? What can we discover by sending humans into space? Have we learned more about the universe from unmanned space telescopes or humans on the International Space Station? What are the health hazards of human space missions?