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NASA begins countdown for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. (AP / NASA: Bill Ingalls)

The Artemis II mission is set to launch with four astronauts on board. 

This will be the first mission to the moon in 53 years and will include a woman, person of colour and non-US citizen in its crew. 

NASA has the first six days of April to launch Artemis II before standing down until the end of the month.

NASA has begun the countdown for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years.

The 32-storey Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off early Thursday morning with four astronauts. 

Who are the Artemis II astronauts heading to the Moon?

Four astronauts are about to become the most closely watched crew since Apollo.

They will be the first to orbit the moon for more than 50 years, testing the path back for the next generation.

The crew includes three Nasa astronauts – Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch – along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Not only are they accomplished pilots, engineers and scientists, they are also spouses and parents balancing a heroic adventure against the risks they and their loved ones will face.

Reid Wiseman is a US Navy test pilot turned astronaut, who spent six months on the International Space Station in 2014 as a flight engineer on Expedition 40. Wiseman says he has a lifelong love of flying, but on the ground he's afraid of heights.

NASA’s Artemis II Launch Mission Countdown Begins

The countdown for NASA’s Artemis II test flight is underway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with members of the launch team arriving at their consoles inside the Rocco Petrone Launch Control Center. The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Artemis II is the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.  

With countdown officially underway, engineers are powering up flight hardware, checking communication links, and preparing the rocket’s cryogenic systems for the precise fueling sequence required to load hundreds of thousands of gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. At Launch Pad 39B, teams will begin filling the sound suppression system’s massive tank with water, which will unleash a protective deluge at liftoff to shield the vehicle from the roar of its own engines. 

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