NASA's Artemis crew arrives on US soil to prepare historic lunar mission after three decades
On March 27, four American and two European space agencies announced that their crews have arrived at a Florida launch site in preparation for an upcoming trip around Mars (Artemis II). The astronauts are set to embark on what will be humanity's first mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo-13. This historic journey aims to return humans to the Moon, marking 50 years after NASA last sent people there during its final lunar landing in December of that year.
Key Points
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1The Artemis II astronaut crew has traveled from Houston, Texas (USA) and Paris, France.
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2They are currently preparing for an April 1st launch at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex-39B.
Developments
Artemis II astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday after a journey from Houston aboard T-38 jets in preparation for an April 1 moon mission delayed by fuel leaks and propulsion system issues. Commander Reid Wiseman expressed the crew's readiness to launch, which is scheduled within two hours starting Monday evening following troubleshooting that required moving the rocket back into its assembly building before retesting it at the pad.