NASA starts countdown for first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years
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NASA launches first crewed Moon mission in 50+ years Wednesday, featuring four astronauts including the first woman on a lunar mission.
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NASA began its two-day countdown Monday for Artemis 2, scheduled to launch Wednesday evening from Kennedy Space Center, marking the agency's first crewed lunar mission since 1972. The flight will carry four astronauts, including the first woman, first person of color, and first non-American to travel to the Moon, aboard NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Rather than landing on the lunar surface, the mission will orbit the Moon and serve as a critical test of the SLS and other systems before NASA attempts crewed landings as part of its broader effort to establish a permanent lunar base. The Artemis program represents a major shift in U.S. space exploration priorities, moving beyond decades of focusing solely on Earth orbit and the International Space Station. A successful flight would demonstrate NASA's capacity to execute long-duration human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit and lay groundwork for sustained lunar operations.
What's Being Done
NASA kicked off a two-day countdown for the Artemis 2 flight launching from Kennedy Space Center Wednesday evening.
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