good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. nasa is hoping to launch its most powerful rocket yet in a launch window which begins in just over half an hour for an un crewed mission, the first step in taking astronauts back to the moon. hundreds of thousands of people have gathered near cape canaveral in florida to watch the launch of artemis i. the craft will orbit the moon before returning to earth in six weeks time. if successful, the plan is for astronauts to be on board the flight in two years time. our science editor rebecca morelle is at kennedy space center in florida. rebecca, however things looking for this launch? ~ rebecca, however things looking for this launch? this launch? well, it is a big day here and as this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see - this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see behindl this launc
going to be going up and it will be extremely loud. been watching this stuff ever. since the space landing of 69. all eyes will be on this rocket to see if it really can get off the ground today. yes, well, that is the issue, and overnight, the team has been dealing with multiple technical problems. first of all, the weather, there was lightning in the area, that delayed fuelling. then a hydrogen leak wasn t spotted. after that, just a few hours ago, we heard about a possible crack in one of the connectors. that doesn t seem to be a problem now. but one of the four huge engines at the bottom of the rocket is facing problems. so, the countdown clock has been paused, it is on t minus a0 minutes at the moment, while the team see to see if they can resolve this problem, and
rebecca, however things looking for this launch? this launch? well, it is a big day here and as this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see - this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see behindl this launch? well, it is a big day - here and as you can see behind me, the weather is looking pretty perfect, but the team has been beset by technical problems. and we are waiting to find out if, when or if, they are going to go ahead with the launch. currently we are filling that liquid oxygen tank. final preparations early this morning. standing on launch pad 39 b, the same one used by the apollo missions, the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built is getting ready for liftoff. the first step in returning humans to the moon for 50 years. we talk about moon shots as things humans can do when we put our differences aside and we focus on the mission and
supplying half of all olive oil, the world s biggest producer has trees almost bare. parched soil giving little fruit, the yield is down by at least a third. the country s green gold, as it is called, is now even more prized. in this factory that exports to the uk, production is dropping by half, pushing up prices amidst a global food crisis. as the flow becomes a trickle, they worry here that this vital sector is in danger. translation: shoppers| are already paying a third higher than last year, but the drought will increase that even more. with the downturn we may have to lay off some workers. another year like this would be a complete catastrophe. now, spain is turning to its shores to help, expanding plants that desalinise sea water to ease the shortage. this one, which purifies enough for a small city,
a young boy stranded on a rock as raging waters surround him. you can see a rescue worker edging out of the helicopter, lifting him up to safety. it s but one of the countless rescue efforts that are happening as pakistan faces one of the worst floods in years, with more than 1,000 people dead and millions affected. i find it very difficult to put into words. flooding doesn t quite seem to encapsulate the ongoing devastation and disaster that we re still witnessing. this is what rajanpur, in pakistan s punjab province, looked like before the flooding. its homes and fields were clearly visible. this is the situation now, overrun and overwhelmed. stepping away from the political turmoil surrounding his government, prime minister shahbaz sharif was seen distributing relief items. while poor planning and infrastructure has played a role in all this,