Liftoff is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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The astronauts set to be launched into space today have arrived at the launch pad after donning their suits and completing one final task.
The crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will be the first people to launch toward the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, more than 50 years ago. The crew will also be the first astronauts that NASA’s giant Space Launch System rocket launches into space.
The 10-day mission does not include a lunar landing; rather, it is designed as a step toward a landing in 2028, and eventually, toward NASA’s goal of establishing a long-term presence on the moon and building a base there. When they circle the moon, the Artemis II crew members could reach a greater distance from Earth than anyone has before.
