MERRITT ISLAND, FL. - The Artemis II test flight will launch on Wednesday evening, sending NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day journey around the moon and back.
The crew is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, powered by the Space Launch System rocket. Unlike the Apollo missions that sent astronauts to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, a person of color and a Canadian citizen.
While the mission does not include the astronauts landing on the moon, the Associated Press reports that NASA plans to boots on the moon again, but not before a couple practice missions.
The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center is hosting an Artemis II launch watch party at the Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center. The launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. and closes at 8:24 p.m.
According to AP, NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month. The Earth and moon must be aligned just so to achieve the proper trajectory for the mission to be successful.
CoastTV will have the broadcast of the launch, as early as 6:24 p.m.
CoastTV will have the broadcast of the launch, as early as 6:24 p.m.