Decades after humans traveled beyond low Earth orbit, NASA’s Artemis II mission is preparing to take astronauts around the Moon.
The four-member crew, consisting of NASA Mission Commander Reed Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, NASA Flight Engineer Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete their final training.
NASA’s Artemis II mission will perform tests on spacecraft systems including life support systems and navigation systems and communications systems and Orion’s heat shield system.
“The country and the world have been waiting a long time to do this again,” Wiseman said. The team is “really excited to do this,” he said.
Training and Technology Behind NASA’s Artemis II
The Artemis II mission will use its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to send the Orion spacecraft on a ten-day lunar mission.
SLS rocket development receives core stage funding from Boeing, while Northrop Grumman provides funding for its boosters and Lockheed Martin develops its Orion spacecraft.
The astronauts have been training for more than two years for their upcoming mission on Artemis II by NASA, and they have been in quarantine since March 18.
The Artemis II mission will set many firsts and historic moments. Glover would become the first black astronaut to approach the Moon, while Koch would become the first woman to do so, and Hansen would become the first non-American astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Wiseman, Glover and Koch have prior space experience, while Hansen has made his first flight. “NASA’s Artemis II is a test mission, and we are prepared for every scenario,” Wiseman said.
