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NASA to Make History with First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Era
(MENAFN) NASA is poised to make history Wednesday, launching four astronauts on a crewed voyage around the Moon for the first time in over half a century — a milestone that marks humanity's boldest return to deep space in a generation.
The Orion spacecraft, mounted atop the Space Launch System, is targeting liftoff no earlier than 6:24 pm EDT (22:24 GMT) from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Conditions appear cooperative, with meteorologists forecasting an 80% probability of weather suitable for launch.
Ground crews have wrapped up final pre-launch procedures, completing critical inspections of the rocket's four RS-25 engines and onboard systems. Non-essential personnel were evacuated from the launch pad ahead of fueling operations, which got underway earlier in the day. Mission coverage kicked off at 7:45 am EDT (11:45 GMT), with full live launch programming available from 12:50 pm EDT (16:50 GMT) across several broadcast platforms.
Strapped aboard Orion are astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, who will embark on a roughly 10-day lunar flyby before splashing down on Earth. While the crew will not set foot on the lunar surface, the mission is designed to push the boundaries of prior human exploration — granting unprecedented views of previously unobserved regions of the Moon and generating data that could pinpoint viable landing zones for future crewed missions.
During the journey, the four-person crew will run onboard system tests, conduct scientific observations, and photograph the Moon from farther out than any human mission before them, working in close coordination with scientists on the ground.
Artemis II serves as a critical proving ground for Artemis III, NASA's planned mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface, and advances the agency's broader ambition of establishing a permanent human presence on and around the Moon — ultimately serving as a launchpad for crewed missions to Mars.
The Orion spacecraft, mounted atop the Space Launch System, is targeting liftoff no earlier than 6:24 pm EDT (22:24 GMT) from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Conditions appear cooperative, with meteorologists forecasting an 80% probability of weather suitable for launch.
Ground crews have wrapped up final pre-launch procedures, completing critical inspections of the rocket's four RS-25 engines and onboard systems. Non-essential personnel were evacuated from the launch pad ahead of fueling operations, which got underway earlier in the day. Mission coverage kicked off at 7:45 am EDT (11:45 GMT), with full live launch programming available from 12:50 pm EDT (16:50 GMT) across several broadcast platforms.
Strapped aboard Orion are astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, who will embark on a roughly 10-day lunar flyby before splashing down on Earth. While the crew will not set foot on the lunar surface, the mission is designed to push the boundaries of prior human exploration — granting unprecedented views of previously unobserved regions of the Moon and generating data that could pinpoint viable landing zones for future crewed missions.
During the journey, the four-person crew will run onboard system tests, conduct scientific observations, and photograph the Moon from farther out than any human mission before them, working in close coordination with scientists on the ground.
Artemis II serves as a critical proving ground for Artemis III, NASA's planned mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface, and advances the agency's broader ambition of establishing a permanent human presence on and around the Moon — ultimately serving as a launchpad for crewed missions to Mars.
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