In just two days, four astronauts could launch toward the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.The crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are set to fly on NASA’s Artemis II mission, a 10-day journey that will take them swinging around the moon. Their path through space could send the group farther from Earth than any human has ever ventured, surpassing the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 miles set in 1970.Though the astronauts will not land on the moon’s surface, the flight is meant to kick-start a new era of lunar exploration, paving the way for a targeted moon landing in two years. The Artemis II mission will mark the first time that NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule carry human passengers.AdvertisementAdvertisementIf that’s cause for any trepidation, the astronauts haven’t let it show.“The four of us, we are ready to go. The team is ready to go. The vehicle is ready to go,” Wiseman said Sunday in a media briefing from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.From left, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday. (Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP – Getty Images)(Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo)Following some starts and stops over the last few months — NASA had to forego launch opportunities in February and March to make last-minute repairs to the rocket — Wiseman and the rest of the crew entered quarantine in Houston on March 18, a standard preflight procedure to ensure the astronauts remain healthy before their mission. They arrived in Florida on Friday.Wiseman will command the Artemis II mission, with Glover serving as pilot and Koch and Hansen as mission specialists. NASA announced the astronauts’ selection in 2023.AdvertisementAdvertisement“Among the crew are the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian on a lunar mission,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said at the time. “And all four astronauts will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the benefit of all.”The three NASA a …
