Artemis II astronauts are more than halfway to the moon
AP News • • science
Key Points:
- The Artemis II mission, carrying three Americans and one Canadian astronaut, is now more than halfway to the moon and will perform a historic lunar fly-around, marking the first moonbound crew in over 53 years since Apollo.
- The crew, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon—will travel more than 252,000 miles, aiming to set a new distance record by flying around the far side of the moon without entering lunar orbit.
- Hansen, pilot Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch are the first lunar astronauts since 1972; Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to travel to the moon, respectively.
- The nearly 10-day mission will conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean and serves as a critical step toward NASA’s goal of establishing a sustainable moon base and landing astronauts near the lunar south pole by 2028.
- The Canadian Space Agency highlighted Canada’s historic role in the mission, celebrating Hansen’s journey as a bold step into deep space exploration.
