JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – NASA is days away from launching Artemis II, a mission that could mark the closest humans have been to the moon since the Apollo missions.
Launch is targeted for Wednesday night at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four astronauts will go on an approximately 10-day journey around the moon.
Barbara Cohen, a planetary scientist at NASA and one of the project scientists for Artemis II, said the mission will help shape the future of lunar exploration and eventually put humans back on the moon.
“We had Artemis I three years ago, that was the test for the rocket system and the Orion crew capsule. Artemis II will build on that knowledge, and we don’t have to test the rocket anymore or test the capsule. What we are testing now is the life support systems and how the crew is going to live and work in the capsule and how we’re going to use that capsule to be able to dock future landers,” Cohen said.
The crew will have a view of the moon that no human has ever had, even the Apollo astronauts, Cohen said.
“While they are out there around the moon, they will have a view of the moon that no human has ever actually had, even the Apollo Astronauts. We really want to understand how the human eye and brain perceive the moon, which is what we’re going to be asking crew to do when they land on the surface,” Cohen said.
Cohen said Artemis II is more than a milestone and will lay the groundwork for future missions and eventually bring humans back to the lunar surface and beyond.
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