The US space agency NASA said Friday that the first Orion-Space Launch System (SLS) mission will be unmanned.

Axar.az reports citing to Sputnik NASA said Friday it will not crew the Orion spacecraft that will be launched in two years atop a super heavy Space Launch System (SLS) rocket due to associated risks and costs.

"NASA determined it is technically capable of launching crew on EM-1, but after evaluating cost, risk and technical factors in a project of this magnitude, it would be difficult to accommodate changes needed to add crew at this point in mission planning," the agency said in a statement.
The maiden launch of the Exploration Mission-1, or EM-1, has been scheduled for 2019. The official launch date will be determined in the coming weeks, NASA said.

EM-1 is the first in a broad series of exploration missions that will take humans to deep space, and eventually to Mars. The agency said the second mission, EM-2, will carry crew beyond the moon.