March 30, New Delhi – Four astronauts, set to embark on a mission around the Moon under NASA’s Artemis II program, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday to finalize preparations for their planned journey.
Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with their Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen, are scheduled to undertake the mission, with a launch planned as early as April 1.
They entered quarantine in Houston last month and will remain there while awaiting final clearance.
They will travel in the Orion crew capsule, designed for deep-space missions. The approximately 10-day journey will take them on a fast loop around the Moon and back without landing on its surface.
The mission will be the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS rocket and the first human journey to the Moon in over 50 years.
The Artemis II lunar mission has faced multiple technological issues and delays, adding uncertainty to the launch timeline.
(Photo/Video Credit: @NASA)