NASA’s Artemis II mission entered its final preparation phase as the four-member crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday.
The mission will send the first humans on a journey around the Moon in more than 50 years, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist).
Their approximately 10-day flight will test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth.
The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are already positioned at Launch Complex 39B following rollout earlier this month. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than April 1, 2026, at 6:24 p.m. EDT, with additional opportunities through April 6 and April 30 if needed.
This will be the first crewed flight of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface later in the decade. Artemis II serves as a critical test of deep-space systems, including life support, navigation, and re-entry capabilities for Orion.
The crew began quarantine procedures at Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 18 and flew to Kennedy Space Center today to continue quarantine in the astronaut crew quarters. They are scheduled to meet with the media during their time in Florida.
The European Space Agency contributed the service module that provides propulsion, power, and thermal control for Orion.
The Dallas Express will continue to follow preparations as the launch window approaches.
