USA Artemis II - 10-day crewed mission

H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.......
www.wwltv.com

Artemis II: Final preparations underway ahead of 10-day crewed mission

Final preparations for the Artemis II liftoff are underway. The launch window opens Wednesday, and the weather is looking favorable. Here's the latest. (AP Photo)
www.wwltv.com www.wwltv.com

Artemis II: Final preparations underway ahead of 10-day crewed mission​

Final preparations are underway for the Artemis II launch. NASA is hopeful liftoff for the 10-day crewed mission will happen on April 1, after several delays.


Author: TEGNA Digital

Published: 9:18 AM CDT March 30, 2026

Updated: 9:18 AM CDT March 30, 2026


WASHINGTON — Final preparations are underway before the launch window opens Wednesday for the Artemis II liftoff, NASA said Sunday.

The 10-day mission to send four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth has faced multiple delays, but crews are busy preparing for the official countdown at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The current window for liftoff begins early Wednesday evening, around 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and lasts for about two hours. NASA has established several backup launch dates in April if the Wednesday liftoff is delayed or scrubbed.

NASA said Sunday that the weather forecast for launch day showed "favorable weather conditions," with their primary concern being cloud coverage and high winds.

Artemis II is the first crewed flight in the series of missions with the goal of returning astronauts to the moon. NASA announced last week that the agency is setting a broader goal to establish a permanent base on the lunar surface.

RELATED: Artemis II: What to know about the moon missions ahead of the scheduled April launch

NASA announced which astronauts would be on the Artemis II crew nearly three years to the day prior to the Wednesday liftoff. The goal at the time was to launch sometime in 2024.

Three longtime NASA astronauts with spaceflight experience—crew Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and Christina Koch—will be joined by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, a former fighter pilot awaiting his first rocket ride.

After launch, the crew will spend about two days checking out Orion’s systems and performing a targeting demonstration test relatively close to Earth before beginning the trek toward the moon.

The crew will then test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the moon.

“The crew will assess the performance of the life support systems necessary to generate breathable air and remove the carbon dioxide and water vapor produced when the astronauts breathe, talk, or exercise," according to NASA.

The world's first lunar visitors orbited the moon on Apollo 8.

It took NASA just eight years to go from putting its first astronaut in space to putting Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969, beating President John Kennedy’s end-of-decade deadline.

Artemis has progressed much more slowly, after decades of indecision and flip-flopping between the moon and Mars as the next grand destination. NASA’s new moon rocket, the Space Launch System, or SLS, has soared only once in a test flight without anyone on board more than three years ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
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Heliobas Disciple

Heliobas Disciple

TB Fanatic
(fair use applies) EXCERPT

ARTEMIS II AND THE SOLAR STORM: If all goes according to plan, NASA will launch the giant Artemis II rocket on April 1st, propelling astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. Because of today's solar flare, a CME will reach Earth just before liftoff. This is not necessarily a problem for Artemis, though. The incoming solar storm does not appear to be rich in energetic particles. Moreover, it will likely be a glancing blow, not a direct hit. This storm is almost certainly not a show-stopper. Additional X-flares from sunspot 4405, however, could make mission planners re-think their schedule.
 
T

tanstaafl

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Points that make me go "Hmmmm ..." (and thinking about the movie "Capricorn One")

- the Orion crew capsule has never carried a crew and has had just one flight (for the uncrewed Artemis-1 mission, two if you count an orbital test of some (but not all?) of the capsule systems)

- SLS has never launched a crew and has had just one launch ("the uncrewed first flight of SLS slipped more than twenty-six times and almost six years"), not to mention if it's such a great rocket why are they already seriously considering shelving it and going with SpaceX's Starship?

- AFAIK the new spacesuits (the Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit) have never flown in space, I don't know if they'll be worn for the entire nine days of the mission (these are not the spacesuits intended for use on the Moon, which is called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, AxEMU, which is bulkier than the Apollo spacesuits and weighs 300 lbs vs 185 lbs for the Apollo spacesuits)

- this will be the fastest ever re-entry of a crewed spacecraft into atmosphere (25,000 mph), this was decided because of Artemis-1 heat shield spalling concerns (yeah, that's reassuring)

- the Orion crew capsule has 316 cubic feet (habitable) for four people over nine days -- they will almost literally be stacked like sardines (to give you a visual, 7' x 7' x 7' = 343 cubic feet), Orion is smaller than SpaceX's Crew Dragon but bigger than Apollo

This isn't a concern, just a bonus -- this will be their "zero g indicator" (designed by a second grader):
Artemis 2 zero g indicator (Rise).jpg
 
T

tanstaafl

Has No Life - Lives on TB
We're sending a black man, a woman, and a Canadian on a flyby of the Moon! They'll fly farther from Earth than any human has ever gone!

What will they accomplish on the mission?

Who cares! It's a black man, a woman, and a Canadian going to the Moon! And the furthest ever!

Is there an actual need for four astronauts rather than three? And why a non-U.S. astronaut?

We must prove we are further along than the Apollo program. This is shown by our choice of a black man, a woman, and a Canadian, and going farther than Apollo ever did! We must practice space equity!

Hasn't the rocket and crew capsule been tested in actual spaceflight only once?

Black man ... woman ... Canadian ... Moon ... farther!

The Moon is a long way off, nine days is a long time for an unproven crew capsule, and once they fire the thrusters to head to the Moon they can't just stop, turn around, and come back if anything goes wrong. They'll be going to the Moon regardless of what happens next.

(slapping hands over both ears) DEI! DEI! We can't hear you! DEI! DEI!
 
Groucho

Groucho

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Sorry, but I've got a really bad feeling about this. Way too much DEI in the crew mix and NASA. No room for that crap.
Give me the old mission control with a bunch of white guys with flat top haircuts. Most of them smoking and all of them able to perform complex calculations using only a pencil and a slide rule. Anyone else remember the old slip sticks?
Nobody even knew about political correctness, but they sure knew their jobs and the mission.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use......
apnews.com

NASA is shooting for the moon. A guide to the Artemis II mission

It's humanity's first flight to the moon since 1972. In a throwback to Apollo, NASA's Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around.
apnews.com apnews.com

NASA is shooting for the moon. A guide to the Artemis II mission​

By MARCIA DUNN

Updated 11:48 PM PDT, March 31, 2026

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — It’s humanity’s first flight to the moon since 1972.

In a throwback to Apollo, NASA’s Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come straight back. No circling around the moon, no stopping for a moonwalk — just a quick out-and-back lasting less than 10 days.

NASA promises more boot prints in the gray lunar dust, but not before a couple practice missions. The upcoming test flight by Artemis astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen is the first step in settling the moon this time around.

Here’s a snapshot of the Artemis II mission.

The Artemis astronauts are a diverse and international crew​

The moon is about to welcome its first woman, first person of color and first non-American.

Koch already holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. During her 328-day mission at the International Space Station spanning 2019 and 2020, she took part in the first all-female spacewalk.

Glover, a Navy test pilot, was the first Black astronaut to live and work aboard the space station in 2020 and 2021. He also was one of the first astronauts to launch with SpaceX.

The Canadian Space Agency’s Hansen, a former fighter pilot, is the lone space rookie. Their commander is Wiseman, a retired Navy captain who lived aboard the space station in 2014 and later headed NASA’s astronaut corps. They range in age from 47 to 50.

Related Stories

Apollo vs. Artemis: What to know about NASA's return to the moon

Artemis II astronauts arrive at Florida launch site for first moon trip in 53 years

NASA revamps Artemis moon landing program by modeling it after speedy Apollo

The Space Launch System is more powerful than the Saturn V rocket​

NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket stands 322 feet (98 meters), shorter than the Apollo program’s Saturn V rocket but more powerful at liftoff thanks to a pair of strap-on boosters. Atop the rocket is the Orion capsule carrying the astronauts.

Made of salvaged space shuttle engines and other parts, the SLS uses the same fuel — liquid hydrogen — as the shuttles did. Hydrogen leaks repeatedly grounded the shuttles as well as the first SLS rocket test without astronauts aboard in 2022. More than three years later, Artemis II suffered the same hydrogen leaks during a February fueling practice run, missing the first launch window. A repeat of helium-flow issues bumped the mission into April.

How Artemis II will fly around the moon​

After liftoff, the astronauts will spend the first 25 hours circling Earth in a high, lopsided orbit. They’ll use the separated upper stage as a target, steering their Orion capsule around it as docking practice for future moonshots. Instead of fancy range finders, they’ll rely on their eyes to judge the gap, venturing no closer than 33 feet (10 meters) to the stage.

“Sometimes simple stuff is the best,” Wiseman said.

If all goes as planned, Orion’s main engine will hurl the crew to the moon some 244,000 miles (393,000 kilometers) away. This free-return trajectory made famous in Apollo 13 relies on the moon and Earth’s gravity, minimizing the need for fuel.

On flight day six, Orion will reach its farthermost point from Earth as it sails 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) beyond the moon. That will surpass Apollo 13’s distance record, making Artemis astronauts the most remote travelers. After emerging from behind the moon, the crew will head straight home with a splashdown on flight day 10 — nine days, one hour and 46 minutes after liftoff.

What to expect during the Artemis flyby​

The Artemis II crew may behold never-before-seen regions of the lunar far side — with the moon appearing the size of a basketball at arm’s length during the closest part of the roughly six-hour flyby. They’ve been poring over maps and satellite images of the lunar far side and anticipate a photo frenzy. Their lunar mentor is NASA geologist Kelsey Young, who will monitor the flyby from Mission Control in Houston.

“The moon is like such a unifying thing,” she said. “What we’re doing with this mission is going to bring that a little closer to everybody around the world.”

Besides professional cameras, they’ll carry the latest smartphones. NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman added smartphones to the mission for “inspiring” picture-taking.

While NASA and private companies have focused over the years on reaching the moon’s near side — the side that constantly faces Earth — only China has planted landers on the far side. That makes the astronauts’ observations of the lunar far side all the more valuable for NASA.

Artemis astronauts will splash back down to Earth​

Like Apollo, the Artemis mission ends with a splashdown homecoming into the Pacific.

All eyes will be on Orion’s heat shield as the capsule plunges through the atmosphere. It’s the part of the spacecraft that took the biggest beating during 2022’s test flight, with charred chunks gouged out. The heat shield is being retooled for future capsules but remains the original design for Artemis II.

NASA is limiting the heat exposure during reentry by shortening the capsule’s atmospheric descent. Navy recovery ships will be stationed off the coast of San Diego as Orion parachutes into the ocean.

___


The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
 
T

tanstaafl

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I was telling my brother that I was surprised there are no gay people in the crew. Then I realized they'll be so tightly packed into the crew capsule for so long that somebody is going to have to get married when they come back. So my theory is that two of the guys will discover their true gay sexuality on the other side of the Moon ("It was a match made in the heavens!"). But as the gay bar in Providence, Rhode Island just found out, it's not enough to be gay, you have to be gay according to Woke religious doctrine. So I theorize even further to say that the entire crew will come back as a new polyamorous family. Remember, you heard it here first!

As for "furthest," the Moon doesn't orbit at an exact distance from Earth all the time. It can vary by quite a bit. Somebody needs to look up where the Moon is now and compare it to where the Moon was during Apollo 13. Then they can confirm the "furthest" claim. Not to mention isn't the Moon close to full right now? That means Farside will be dark when they loop around the back, so no idea what they're expecting to see with the naked eye.

And just for the occasion, here is some Moon trivia from Apollo days:

-----

Alan Shepard smacked golf balls on the Moon — and now we know where they landed
When the Apollo astronaut said his second shot went "miles and miles and miles," that was a bit of an exaggeration.

by Mark Zastrow
February 15, 2021

In the annals of golf history, Alan Shepard’s shots from the lunar sand may be the most famous swings ever taken. And after 50 years, image analysts have finally determined how far his golf balls went.

When America’s first man in space was assigned to be commander of Apollo 14, he saw an opportunity to create the 1971 equivalent of a viral moment. So, before his trip to the Moon, he commissioned a custom 6-iron head that he could attach to the end of a lunar sampling tool in lieu of a regular golf club.

Then, as his time on the lunar surface came to an end, he stood in front of a TV camera with his makeshift club and two golf balls. After a few one-armed swings that mainly moved regolith, he shanked his first ball into a crater. He made better contact with the second ball, though. And as it sailed out of the camera’s view, he remarked, “Miles and miles and miles.”

Of course, he didn’t mean that literally. But in the Moon’s airless environment with just one-sixth the gravity of Earth, Shepard later estimated that his modest pitch shot carried the ball about 200 yards (600 feet).
However, image specialist Andy Saunders recently analyzed archival stills taken by the astronauts with their Hasselblad cameras, as well as video from the lunar ascent module as it lifted off from the surface. Saunders managed to identify not only Shepard’s golf balls, but also his footprints from his stance and his divots. By comparing these to more recent satellite images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Saunders was able to measure the distance on Shepard’s second shot. The result? A rather tame 40 yards (120 feet).

Still, that’s not bad for a one-handed bunker shot taken while wearing a bulky spacesuit in weak gravity. Plus, it served as one of the Apollo program’s most memorable moments. When asked about the shot at a post-flight Congressional hearing, Shepard quipped, “I did this since I am patriotic and concerned about the security of the nation.”

www.astronomy.com

Alan Shepard smacked golf balls on the Moon — and now we know where they landed

When the Apollo astronaut said his second shot went "miles and miles and miles," that was a bit of an exaggeration.
www.astronomy.com www.astronomy.com

Alan Shepard's lunar golf balls.jpg
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment

NASA's Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast)​

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR2KK8TEs


NASA


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Started streaming 3 hours ago

This feed will provide continuous coverage of Artemis II mission activities with live commentary, beginning with tanking of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and concluding with the recovery of the Orion Integrity spacecraft after splashdown. Live coverage of Artemis II's launch and lunar flyby, as well as daily mission briefings, will also stream on this feed. These events will additionally be carried as standalone streams on NASA's YouTube channel and elsewhere. Four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) — make up the Artemis II crew: - NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander - NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot - NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist - Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist After launching into space atop SLS, the crew will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we'll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars. Read the latest Artemis II mission updates: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/artemis/ Follow our Artemis II live coverage schedule: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis... Credit: NASA
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Red Baron

Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
_______________
I'm old enough to remember the first manned missions and will still watch many of the recent manned and unmanned launches.

Unfortunately, I find the Artemis program to be completely underwhelming.

What are we accomplishing by attempting to replicate what we did way, way, way, back in 1969?
 
TheSearcher

TheSearcher

Are you sure about that?
Red Baron said:
I'm old enough to remember the first manned missions and will still watch many of the recent manned and unmanned launches.

Unfortunately, I find the Artemis program to be completely underwhelming.

What are we accomplishing by attempting to replicate what we did way, way, way, back in 1969?
Click to expand...
Oh, I get you. What you have to understand is that Nixon killed follow-on Apollo missions in favor of Shuttle (he should have approved both) then Bush killed the Shuttle program before we had another vehicle available. That latter move destroyed an entire specialized industrial base that had existed to service military needs before NASA even existed - it had to be rebuilt and re-learned.

Imagine you're a farmer, and you were forced to sell all your plowshares, and all farmers were told to do something else with their lives. The plowshare companies would go out of business, meaning you'd have to learn how to make plowshares again before you could start farming once more in the future. Tractors would be out of the question for a long time.
 
Countrymouse

Countrymouse

Country exile in the city
Red Baron said:
I'm old enough to remember the first manned missions and will still watch many of the recent manned and unmanned launches.

Unfortunately, I find the Artemis program to be completely underwhelming.

What are we accomplishing by attempting to replicate what we did way, way, way, back in 1969?
Click to expand...
Learn how to do it again--with today's public-school system educated astronauts.

:eek:
 
Czechsix

Czechsix

Senior Member
Housecarl said:
Posted for fair use......
apnews.com

NASA is shooting for the moon. A guide to the Artemis II mission

It's humanity's first flight to the moon since 1972. In a throwback to Apollo, NASA's Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around.
apnews.com apnews.com

NASA is shooting for the moon. A guide to the Artemis II mission​

.....
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Click to expand...
This is what passes for science journalism these days?

What a joke.
 
et2

et2

TB Fanatic
Can’t help but when seeing the orange fuselage … it’s way too rusty … lol. Just foam oxidizing. But I Remember our fords when a kid. Always rusty
 
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