On Saturday afternoon, weather permitting, the U.S. will burn $4 billion on Artemis I, NASA's new rocket to the moon. It's the opening curtain for a return to manned moon exploration that may cost more than $90 billion by 2025. (Technical problems delayed its originally scheduled takeoff on Monday).
I use the term "burn" advisedly. This single-use rocket will fly only once. This test flight, with mannequins subbing for astronauts, will orbit the moon for six weeks, travel more than a million miles and then drop into the ocean.
