Humanity is on its way back to the moon’s environs for the first time in half a century after the Artemis II mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida the evening of April 1.Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are set to fly by the moon aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft – an endeavor known as Artemis II – making them the first people to travel this far since the Apollo missions of the 1970s.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. AdvertisementAdvertisementA successful mission would mark a crucial step for the space agency that seeks to return to the moon’s surface. It would also validate technology that the space agency hopes will take missions even further.“The goal is to shift the human space exploration venture from Earth orbit to all points beyond,” said Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. “Artemis II is the first time we’re sending people on that kind of voyage.”Here’s what to know about the 10-day mission and how to track the journey.What is the significance of Artemis II?Astronauts have shuttled back and forth from the International Space Station for decades, forming a continuous human presence a few hundred miles above Earth. Now, NASA’s goal is to build an “enduring presence in deep space.”AdvertisementAdvertisementThe space agency hopes the suite of rockets and spacecraft underpinning the Artemis program will set the stage for annual visits to the moon’s surface, as well as more ambitious trips.“This is the technology that, we hope, will allow astronauts to not only land on the moon but take humans to other planets, to asteroids,” McDowell said.The program is projected to have cost $105 billion, according to an estimate from th …
