NASA begins countdown to first human landing on the moon in 53 years

The 32-story Space Launch System rocket will blast off Wednesday night four astronauts. After a day of orbiting the Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. No stops – just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Managers said the rocket was operating well after the latest round of repairs. Forecasters say the weather should cooperate.

NASAThe Artemis 2 mission was supposed to take off in February but ran aground due to a hydrogen fuel leak. The leak was fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing the plane to return to the hangar late last month. Rocket Return to MAT 1 1/2 weeks ago and American and Canadian crews arrive at launch site on Friday.

Unlike the Apollo program, which sent only men to the moon between 1968 and 1972, Artemis’ first astronauts included a woman, a person of color and a non-U.S. citizen.

Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover said over the weekend that he hopes young people see them and think, “Girl power, this is awesome, young brown boys and girls can look at me and say ‘Hey, he looks like me, what is he doing???'”

At the same time, Glover, who is black, looks forward to “a day when we don’t have to talk about these firsts” and exploring the universe becomes an all-encompassing “human history.”

NASA will launch Artemis 2 during the first six days of April, then pause until the end of the month.