MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (CBS12) — NASA is gearing up for its first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon, with the Artemis II test flight targeting launch as early as April 1 and a full slate of prelaunch events and live coverage set to stream online.
The mission will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the moon.
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One of the goals is to test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems for the first time with people and lay the groundwork for future crewed Artemis missions.
NASA is aiming to launch no earlier than Wednesday, April 1, with a two-hour window starting at 6:24 p.m. EDT, and backup opportunities running through Monday, April 6.
Here’s a timeline of what’s supposed to happen on Wednesday, April 1:
7:45 a.m.: Live coverage begins as propellant loading, or “tanking,” gets underway for NASA’s SLS rocket, with views of the vehicle and live commentary.12:50 p.m.: Launch coverage starts on NASA+, then continues on YouTube once Orion’s solar arrays deploy in space.About two and a half hours after liftoff, NASA will host a postlaunch news conference following the upper stage burn that sends Orion and its crew into high Earth orbit.
For anyone who wants to attend the launch virtually, they must register on eventbrite.com.
About the Astronauts:
Christina Koch, Mission Specialist
Koch was selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2013 and will be mission specialist on the Artemis II mission to the moon. She served as a flight engineer on board the International Space Station as part of expeditions 59, 60 and 61.
According to NASA, Koch set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, with a total of 328 days in space, and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
Reid Wiseman, Commander
In 2009, Reid Wiseman was selected to be a NASA astronaut and will serve as the commander for of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon. Wiseman is a Baltimore native who earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and a Master of Science in Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He did flight training in Pensacola, Florida.
Victor Glover
Victor J. Glover, selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013, is now serving as the pilot for the Artemis II mission to the Moon. He previously piloted NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station during Expedition 64.
Glover holds a Bachelor of Science in general engineering and three master’s degrees, including flight test engineering, systems engineering, and military operational art and science. He has logged around 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, along with over 400 carrier-arrested landings and 24 combat missions.
Jeremy Hansen
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen is set to fly to the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft aboard NASA’s SLS rocket. He will become the first Canadian to travel to the Moon.
Hansen, from London, Ontario, is a fighter pilot with a Bachelor of Science in space science and a Master of Science in physics. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) and speaks English and French, with basic knowledge of Russian.