NASA's Moon flyby mission primed for launch
The Hindu
NASA's Artemis 2 mission, set to launch April 1, 2026, marks a historic lunar flyby with a diverse astronaut crew.
Four astronauts are set to embark Wednesday (April 1, 2026) on a trip around the Moon marking humankind's deepest venture into space, an odyssey that aims to launch the US into a new era of interstellar exploration.
The NASA mission dubbed Artemis 2 has been years in the making after facing repeated setbacks and massive cost overruns, but is finally scheduled to take off from Florida as early as 6:24 p.m. (2224 GMT).
The weather was expected to be favorable, with an 80% chance of conditions suitable for launch.
The team featuring Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen will set forth on the approximately 10-day mission and hurtle around Earth's nearest celestial neighbor without landing -- much like Apollo 8 did in 1968.
The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.
If the mission proceeds as planned, the astronauts will set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
