Artemis II Crew Reaches Kennedy Space Center for Historic Lunar Mission

Four astronauts preparing for humanity's first moon voyage in over 50 years have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch as early as Wednesday aboard NASA's most powerful rocket for a 10-day journey around the moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four space explorers destined to make history as the first humans to visit lunar territory in more than five decades touched down at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, where a massive rocket awaits to propel them on their extraordinary journey around the moon.

Mission Commander Reid Wiseman and his three fellow crew members flew in from Houston aboard T-38 training aircraft, marking their closest approach yet to an actual launch. The mission faced a two-month postponement due to fuel system problems and other technical difficulties with the rocket, requiring multiple trips between the assembly building and launch pad.

As the astronauts stepped out of their aircraft at Kennedy Space Center, they were welcomed by NASA’s newly appointed administrator Jared Isaacman. The historic crew consists of Wiseman alongside NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch, plus Canadian space agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The space agency has set Wednesday as the earliest possible launch date for the mission. NASA has a narrow window of opportunity during the first six days of April before operations must pause for nearly a month.

The four-person team will travel inside an Orion spacecraft mounted on top of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for the agency’s first crewed lunar expedition since the Apollo 17 mission concluded in 1972. Their 10-day adventure will conclude with a water landing in the Pacific Ocean.

This week, Isaacman revealed updated plans for the lunar base that NASA plans to construct through the Artemis initiative. Following this upcoming mission, the program will feature a lunar landing vehicle demonstration in Earth orbit during 2027, followed by one or potentially two astronaut moon landings scheduled for 2028.