NASA to announce Artemis II Moon mission astronauts on April 3

NASA said that it and the Canadian Space Agency will announce the four-person crew of the Artemis 2 mission that will orbit the Moon and come back.

By: Science Desk

Abu Dhabi | Updated: March 14, 2023 04:59 PM IST

2 min read

NASA's Artemis 2 mission will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program. (Image credit: NASA)

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NASA said that it would announce on April 3 the four astronauts who will be travelling to the Moon as part of the Artemis 2 mission. Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program that aims to establish a long-term human and scientific presence on the Moon.

The crew for the Artemis 2 mission embarking on the 2.2 million kilometre-long journey will include three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut. The names of the members will be jointly announced by NASA and CSA at 11 AM EDT(9.30 PM IST) on Monday, April 3.

Artemis II is the first crewed mission aboard NASA’s foundational human deep space capabilities: the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems needed to launch them. The approximately 10-day mission will test and stress the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems to prove the capabilities and techniques required to live and work in deep space in ways only humans can do.

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With the crewed Artemis 1 mission, NASA tested the capabilities of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. The ten-day-long Artemis 2 mission will be the first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo program and it will pave the way for the first woman to land on the Moon with the Artemis 2 mission.

During the Artemis 2 mission, NASA Orion crew capsule will orbit the Moon once before making its return back to Earth. The hardware for the SLS rockets for the Artemis II mission is currently in various phases of production, assembly and testing.

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