For NASA’s Artemis II Crew, Journey to the Moon ‘Starting to Feel Real’
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Four astronauts—Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen—are preparing for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to orbit the moon since 1972, scheduled for launch on Wednesday.
- The 10-day mission will orbit the moon without landing, testing NASA’s spacecraft life support systems ahead of future lunar landings.
- Artemis II marks several historic firsts: Koch will be the first woman to orbit the moon, Glover the first Black astronaut, and Hansen the first Canadian to do so.
- The crew is currently in precautionary quarantine at Kennedy Space Center to prevent illness before the mission.
- After launch delays due to technical issues, the rocket has been on the launchpad for over a week, and the crew is preparing to make detailed observations of the moon’s far side during the mission.
