NASA’s Artemis II mission is expected to take place on Wednesday, as four astronauts prepare to lift off from Kennedy Space Center as part of the agency’s effort to return mankind to the moon.
The mission is scheduled for 6:24 pm ET and marks the first time astronauts will travel near the moon since the Apollo program ended over 50 years ago. The crew includes NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission could break the distance record set during the Apollo program, sending humans further from Earth than ever before.
The launch was initially planned to take place in February, but technical issues with the rocket, including hydrogen leaks, caused it to be delayed.
The mission has been characterized as a “stepping stone” toward eventually sending astronauts to Mars. While NASA does not currently have concrete plans for a Mars mission, Artemis II will help collect data for future deep space exploration. The mission will also test the Orion spacecraft, including how its heat shield performs when reentering Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of about seven miles per second.
