space
Artemis II astronauts prepare to leave Earth’s orbit and head towards the moon
Nasa mission enters second day, with crew hoping to become first people to orbit moon in more than 50 years
TL;DR
- Four astronauts are on the Artemis II mission, a 10-day voyage to the moon.
- This mission is NASA's first human return to the moon's vicinity in 50 years and a test for future permanent settlement.
- The crew launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday.
- The mission aims to test systems for future Artemis missions, including a proximity operations demonstration for docking.
- Artemis II is expected to break the record for distance traveled away from Earth, set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.
- Future Artemis missions, like Artemis IV, aim to land astronauts on the moon's south pole, with NASA planning a lunar base.
- Washington is in a new space race with China, which also plans a crewed mission to the moon's south pole.