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WEDNESDAY. ABC’S MELISSA AID.EN EXPLAINS HOW THE CREW IS GETTING READY. NASA IS TAKING THE STEPS IN HOPES IT WILL LEAD TO ANOTHER GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND. PREPARATION IS UNDERWAY FOR THE KREWE OF ARTEMIS TWO, AHEAD OF THE FIRST HUMAN MOON MISSION IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS. WE CAN SAFELY SAY THE CREW IS READY, THE ROCKET’S READY, THE SPACESHIP IS READY. ASTRONAUTS AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN FLORIDA ARE T MINUS TWO DAYS TO HISTORY. THE CREW OF FOUR ASTRONAUTS, NOW IN ISOLATION, LED BY COMMANDER REID WISEMAN, ARE SET TO BLAST OFF ON A TEN DAY, 685,000 MILE JOURNEY DEEPER INTO SPACE THAN EVER BEFORE. TO OUR CLOSEST COSMIC NEIGHBOR, THE MOON SLINGSHOTTING AROUND THE FAR SIDE OF IT AND THEN HEADING BACK TO EARTH. WE ARE GOING FOR ALL AND BY ALL. THIS IS WHAT NASA EMBODIES. NASA SAYS THE MISSION IS A MAJOR STEP IN RETURNING HUMANS TO LUNAR EXPLORATION AND ONE DAY TO MARS. IT’S ALSO A HISTORY MAKING CREW. VICTOR GLOVER IS SET TO BECOME THE FIRST BLACK MAN TO TRAVEL INTO DEEP SPACE. YOUNG BROWN BOYS AND GIRLS CAN LOOK AT ME AND GO, HEY, HE LOOKS LIKE ME, AND HE’S DOING WHAT? AND THAT’S GREAT, I LOVE THAT, BUT I ALSO HOPE WE ARE PUSHING THE OTHER DIRECTION THAT ONE DAY WE DON’T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THESE FIRST. JEREMY HANSEN FROM THE CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY MARKS THE FIRST CANADIAN PART OF A LUNAR EXPLORATION. WHILE CHRISTINA KOCH WILL BE THE FIRST WOMAN TO JOURNEY TO THE MOON. IF THERE IS SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE, IT’S THAT WE ARE AT A TIME WHEN EVERYONE WHO HAS. EVERYONE WHO HAS A DREAM GETS TO WORK EQUALLY HARD TO ACHIEVE THAT DREAM. THE COUNTDOWN TO ARTEMIS TWO IS ON THEIR LAUNCH WINDOW IS THIS WEDNESDAY. IF GIVEN THE ALL CLEAR AS WEATHER OR TECHNICAL ISSUES COULD DELAY, THE SPACECRAFT CARRYING THE ARTEMIS CREW WILL TAKE OFF FROM NASA’
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NASA began the countdown Monday for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years.The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. There are no stops — just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific.“Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. “Certainly, all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape.”Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs. Forecasters said the weather should cooperate.NASA’s Artemis II mission should have soared in February, but was grounded by hydrogen fuel leaks. The leaks were fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing a return to the hangar late last month. The rocket returned to the pad 1 1/2 weeks ago, and its U.S.-Canadian crew arrived at the launch site on Friday.Unlike Apollo, which sent only men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, person of color and a non-U.S. citizen.Artemis II’s pilot Victor Glover said over the weekend that he wants young people to see them and think, “Girl power and that’s awesome, and that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go ‘Hey, he looks like me and he’s doing what???’”At the same time, Glover, who is Black, looks forward to when ”one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts” and exploring the cosmos becomes an all-encompassing “human history.”NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month.
NASA began the countdown Monday for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years.
The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. There are no stops — just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific.
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“Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. “Certainly, all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape.”
Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs. Forecasters said the weather should cooperate.
NASA’s Artemis II mission should have soared in February, but was grounded by hydrogen fuel leaks. The leaks were fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing a return to the hangar late last month. The rocket returned to the pad 1 1/2 weeks ago, and its U.S.-Canadian crew arrived at the launch site on Friday.
Unlike Apollo, which sent only men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, person of color and a non-U.S. citizen.
Artemis II’s pilot Victor Glover said over the weekend that he wants young people to see them and think, “Girl power and that’s awesome, and that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go ‘Hey, he looks like me and he’s doing what???’”
At the same time, Glover, who is Black, looks forward to when ”one day we don’t have to talk about these firsts” and exploring the cosmos becomes an all-encompassing “human history.”
NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month.
