Moon photo, March 2024, Jon Tupper
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The countdown is underway for NASA’s Artemis II mission, with just eight days remaining until the opening of the first potential launch window on Feb. 6 for the first crewed flight to the moon in more than 54 years.
If launched on schedule, Artemis II would mark humanity’s first crewed journey beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The mission will send four astronauts, including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10 day flight around the moon and back to Earth.
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are now on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, where teams are completing final checkouts ahead of a critical wet dress rehearsal expected in early February. The rehearsal involves fully fueling the rocket and simulating launch day operations, a key step before final approval.
The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Hansen, who will become the first Canadian to travel to lunar orbit. The mission will see the crew orbit Earth before committing to a trans lunar injection burn that sends Orion around the far side of the moon.
The flight is designed to test Orion’s systems and the SLS rocket under real mission conditions, paving the way for Artemis III, which is expected to return astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade. NASA has said the mission will proceed only when all systems meet safety requirements, with backup launch opportunities available later in February, as well as in March and April.
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