NASA’s Artemis II Mission Prepares For Historic Launch With Crew On Board

NASA’s Artemis II mission is on the cusp of a significant milestone, with the agency poised to transport its Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad as early as next Saturday. This slow, four-mile journey atop the crawler-transporter 2 from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center marks a crucial step towards humanity’s return to the moon.

The mobile launcher, topped with the rocket and Orion, is expected to make its way to the pad, pending a successful review of the mission’s readiness. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, emphasized that crew safety — the top priority as the agency nears this pivotal moment.

The Orion spacecraft, set to carry its first human crew, has previously undertaken two uncrewed trips to space. This mission, Artemis II, aims to send a crew of four – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – on a 10-day journey past the moon, without landing.

This venture will mark the farthest distance from Earth any human has ever flown, and the first time humans have ventured out of low-Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in ← →