NASA astronauts who will participate in the future Artemis II mission are actively preparing to perform an important flyby of the Moon. The purpose of this mission, which is scheduled for November next year, is to confirm the safety and reliability of the Orion spacecraft for manned missions to the Moon. On Wednesday, the pre-start training launch was a key step in preparing the crew for future tasks.
The four astronauts selected for the Artemis II mission are Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman from NASA and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. They started their training day by waking up in the crew room in the Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkouts building in Florida. This morning was very important for them due to the next step towards the realization of their planned manned mission.
In the morning, the astronauts put on test suits of the Orion crew survival system for the first time. These spacesuits are an important part of the equipment for any mission to space, and they will ensure the safety of astronauts during a trip to the Moon. After the spacesuits were properly put on, the crew was ready to move to launch pad 39B, where the launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket would take place.
The astronauts were transported to the launch pad using new NASA vehicles. Koch and Hansen were in one car, and Wiseman and Glover were in the other. After reaching the platform, they climbed the tower to the white room inside the crew access arm. This room is an important step before the launch, because here astronauts are preparing to enter the Orion spacecraft, which will take them to the Moon.
“When we walked out that crew access arm, I just had images of all those Apollo launches and shuttle launches that I saw as a kid and it was unreal. I actually had to stop and just stay in the moment to really let it all sink in,” Glover shared his impressions.
Suit Up!
Today, the #Artemis II crew and @NASAGroundSys successfully conducted a launch day demonstration. The demo included test spacesuits, a ride to Launch Complex 39B, and going up the mobile launcher to the crew access arm white room.https://t.co/vHl28fVSYR pic.twitter.com/7ed1hGvvy4
— NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) September 20, 2023
It is important to note that this mission is part of NASA’s overall ambitious plan, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and prepare for further flights to Mars. Artemis II will be the first manned flight to the Moon since 1972 and will use NASA’s SLS rocket to send the Orion spacecraft on this incredible journey. After the successful flyby of the Earth’s moon, it is planned to implement the next Artemis III mission for 2025, which provides for the landing of the first astronauts on the Moon and the use of the SpaceX module for this task.
Earlier we reported why a Canadian was chosen to join the Artemis II team.
According to NASA.
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