NASA's Artemis II mission, scheduled for launch tonight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marks a pivotal event as it will bring humans close to the moon for the first time since 1972 and set a record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled in space. Four astronauts – NASA's Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen – arrived in Florida from Houston after a two-week quarantine and are set to embark on a 10-day journey around the moon aboard the 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule. Liftoff is planned for 6:24 p.m. local time (2224 GMT), with weather conditions currently favorable, though NASA has until April 6 to retry if conditions worsen or must wait until April 30 for another attempt.

The Artemis II mission will not involve a lunar landing; instead, the astronauts will travel several thousand miles beyond the moon, perform a U-turn, and return to Earth. During the flight, they are expected to test critical life-support systems of the Orion capsule, crew interfaces, and communications equipment. This mission represents the opening phase of NASA's ambitious plans to establish a permanent moon base, with the agency aiming for a full-scale landing near the lunar south pole by 2028.

This journey is a significant milestone not only for NASA but for all of humanity, heralding a new era in space exploration. Conducted ahead of China's first crewed lunar landing, Artemis II is seen as part of the US regime's efforts to assert its dominance in space. The astronauts will leave Earth's orbit for the first time since 1972, covering a distance of 252,000 miles (406,000 km) and setting a historic benchmark in human spaceflight.

Source: www.dw.com