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NASA's Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft set for the Artemis 2 mission is seen on Launch Complex 39B at sunrise at the Kennedy Space Center.and back. There are no stops – just a quick U-turn around the moon.
The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific. "Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment," said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.NASA astronauts: Reid Wiseman – Artemis II commander, Victor Glover – Artemis II pilot, Christina Koch – Artemis II mission specialist, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen – Artemis II mission specialist, in front of NASA's Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, on Monday, March 30, 2026. Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs. Forecasters said the weather should cooperate.The leaks were fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing a return to the hangar late last month. Unlike Apollo, which sent only men to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis' debut crew includes a woman, a person of color, and a non-US citizen. Artemis II's pilot Victor Glover said over the weekend that he wants young people to see them and think,"Girl power and that's awesome, and that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go 'Hey, he looks like me and he's doing what???'"At the same time, Glover, who is Black, looks forward to when"one day we don't have to talk about these firsts" and exploring the cosmos becomes an all-encompassing"human history." NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month.
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