Countdown for historic space mission begins

(The Center Square) – The countdown has begun, for the first time in more than 50 years, NASA is launching a lunar mission in preparation for humans landing on the moon once again. The Artemis II is scheduled to launch Wednesday, the first mission to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, which spent just over three days on the lunar surface. Unlike the Apollo missions, which launched with three astronauts, Artemis II will launch with four. The mission is expected to last 10 days from launch to splashdown. The mission, which followed Artemis I, launched in 2022 as an unmanned lunar spaceflight, leading the way for other Artemis missions. Artemis I, II and III will eventually pave the way for Artemis IV in 2028, when humans are expected to set foot on the lunar surface. Despite multiple missions to the moon, the Artemis II will mark some historical firsts for NASA. Astronaut Christina Koch will be the first woman astronaut to tr