NASA’S big return to the Moon in more than 50 years is set to blast off tonight.
The US space agency is sending four astronauts up and around the Moon if weather conditions remain stable.
While the team won’t land on the lunar surface, the Artemis II mission is expected to be the farthest crewed spaceflight from Earth ever.
And it’ll pave the way to human feet walking on the Moon once more, 53 years after the last ever crewed lunar landing as part of Nasa‘s Apollo programme.
It’s scheduled to lift off at 18:24 local time (23:24 UK time) but depend heavily on final checks being cleared and the all important weather.
There will be other opportunities throughout the week if tonight doesn’t work out.
“The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favourable weather conditions with primary concerns being cumulus clouds, ground winds, and solar weather,” the space agency said.
“NASA and weather officers with the US Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 will continue to monitor the weather leading up to liftoff.”
But the space agency has warned that there are “primary concerns” over possible cloud coverage and high winds at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis II was originally meant to lift off in early February but it had to be delayed due to hydrogen fuel leaks.
The four astronauts onboard are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
Sign up for The Sun Tech newsletter for gadgets, games & more
Hello! I’m Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science
I’ve been writing about gadgets, games and the future of technology for more than a decade.
During that time I’ve penned thousands of articles, filmed hundreds of videos, talked tech on TV and radio, and travelled around the world to bring you the latest on Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, Netflix and more.
And I’ve got a weekly newsletter called The Sun Tech that you can read for free every Thursday.
I bring you the latest from the world of tech, including behind-the-scenes action, exclusive content, expert analysis, and plenty of help advice – so please follow along!
A series of space firsts will also be achieved once the mission goes ahead, with Glover being the first person of colour, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American to travel around the Moon.
If successful, boots could finally walk on the ground of the Moon again.
Nasa recently revised its plans for Artemis III next year.
It was originally meant to be a crewed landing mission but instead it’ll fly in low Earth orbit with no landing, to do extra safety checks.
We’ll now have to wait until Artemis IV for a landing, which is scheduled for early 2028.
“Nasa must standardise its approach, increase flight rate safely, and execute on the President’s national space policy,” explained Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman earlier this month.
“With credible competition from our greatest geopolitical adversary increasing by the day, we need to move faster, eliminate delays, and achieve our objectives.”
