NASA has set March 6 as the tentative launch date for its Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts on a historic flight around the moon—the first crewed lunar orbit in over 50 years.
The announcement follows the completion of a critical full launch-day simulation, known as a wet dress rehearsal, during which NASA fuelled the Space Launch System with more than 700,000 gallons of propellant and ran multiple countdown tests without major issues. Administrator Jared Isaacman described the milestone as “a big step toward America’s return to the lunar environment.”
The 10-day mission will see the crew orbit Earth before tracing a figure-eight trajectory around the moon. The astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency—will travel farther from Earth than any humans before them, potentially surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13.
Artemis II marks the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which is not designed for a lunar landing, and the Space Launch System rocket. While the mission will not touch the lunar surface, the crew aims to pass beyond the moon’s far side, setting the stage for future exploration.
The mission is a precursor to Artemis III, the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17, currently targeted for mid-2027, with some estimates suggesting a potential slip to 2028. NASA intends to use the Artemis program to prepare for eventual human missions to Mars, amid growing competition from China’s planned crewed lunar efforts by 2030.
NASA emphasized that the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal also included a closeout crew demonstration of Orion’s hatch procedures and observation of terminal countdowns by the crew from the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center, ensuring readiness for the historic flight.
Source: TRT World and Agencies
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