Artemis II astronauts received approval to head to the Moon, aiming for a lunar flyby after more than five decades. Scheduled for a 5min 49sec engine burn at 7:49pm Eastern Time, the maneuver sets the stage for a 10-day mission. The crew includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, addressing checks and minor issues post-launch.
The mission marks significant milestones: the first person of color, woman, and non-American astronaut on a lunar mission. Upon successful execution, the crew will venture farther from Earth than any previous human mission, setting a new distance record of over 250,000 miles. This is also the maiden crewed flight of NASA’s SLS rocket, which aims to support future missions on the Moon.
