CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity鈥檚 first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA鈥檚 push toward a landing in two years.
Carrying three Americans and one Canadian, the 32-story rose from NASA鈥檚 Kennedy Space Center where tens of thousands gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and 鈥70s. It is NASA鈥檚 biggest step yet toward establishing a permanent lunar presence.
鈥淥n this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,鈥 launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew right before liftoff. 鈥淕ood luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let鈥檚 go.鈥
Artemis II set sail from the same Florida launch site that sent Apollo鈥檚 explorers to the moon so long ago. The handful still alive cheered this next generation鈥檚 grand adventure as the Space Launch System rocket thundered into the early evening sky, a nearly full moon beckoning some 248,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away.
Five minutes into the flight, Commander Reid Wiseman saw the team鈥檚 target: 鈥淲e have a beautiful moonrise, we鈥檙e headed right at it,鈥 he said from the capsule. On board with him are pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. It was the most diverse lunar crew ever with the first woman, person of color and non-U. S. citizen riding in NASA鈥檚 new Orion capsule.
鈥淣ASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters following liftoff, calling the half-century hiatus a brief intermission.
Tensions high in the hours leading up to launch
Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay.
To NASA鈥檚 relief, no significant hydrogen leaks occurred. The launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel (2.6 million liters) into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the to board.
Then NASA had to overcome a flurry of last-minute technical issues 鈥 bad battery sensors and an inability to get commands through to the rocket's flight termination system. In both cases, the issues were quickly resolved, allowing the launch to proceed.
What's on tap for 10-day test flight?
The astronauts will stick close to home for the first 25 hours of their 10-day test flight, checking out the capsule in orbit around Earth before firing the main engine that will propel them to the moon.
They won鈥檛 pause for a stopover or orbit the moon like Apollo 8鈥檚 first lunar visitors did so famously on Christmas Eve 1968, reading from Genesis. But they stand to become the most distant humans ever when their capsule zooms past the moon and continues another 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond, before making a U-turn and tearing straight home to a splashdown in the Pacific.
Once settled in a high orbit around Earth, the astronauts assumed manual control and practiced steering their capsule around the rocket鈥檚 detached upper stage, with a goal of venturing as close as 33 feet (10 meters). NASA wants to know how Orion handles in case the self-flying feature fails and the pilots need to take control.
Crew has an amazing sight in store
Four days later during the lunar flyby, the moon will appear to be the size of a basketball held at arm鈥檚 length. The astronauts will take turns peering through Orion鈥檚 windows with cameras. If the lighting is right, they should see features never before viewed through human eyes. They鈥檒l also catch snippets of a total solar eclipse, donning eclipse glasses as the moon briefly blocks the sun from their perspective and the corona is revealed.
All of NASA鈥檚 moon plans 鈥 a surge in launches over the next several years leading to a sustainable moon base for astronauts assisted by robotic rovers and drones 鈥 hinge on Artemis II going well.
It鈥檚 been more than three years since Artemis I, the only other time NASA鈥檚 SLS rocket and Orion capsule have soared. With no one aboard, the Artemis I capsule lacked life-support equipment and other crew essentials like a water dispenser and toilet.
These systems are now making their space debut on Artemis II, ratcheting up the risk. That鈥檚 why NASA is waiting a full day before committing Wiseman and his crew to a four-day trip to the moon and four-day journey back.
The capsule's toilet is already acting up. Koch informed Mission Control that it shut down seconds after she activated it. Mission Control advised her to to use a handheld bag-and-funnel system for now 鈥 CCU, short for Collapsible Contingency Urinal 鈥 while engineers pondered how to deal with the so-called lunar loo.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always been a lot riding on this mission,鈥 NASA鈥檚 Lori Glaze said ahead of launch. But the teams are even more 鈥渆nergized鈥 now that the space agency is finally accelerating the lunar launch pace and laser-focusing on surface operations 鈥 seismic changes recently announced by Isaacman.
Artemis offers a fresh beginning
With half the world鈥檚 population not yet born when NASA鈥檚 12 moonwalkers left their boot prints in the gray lunar dust, Artemis offers a fresh beginning, NASA鈥檚 science mission chief Nicky Fox said earlier this week.
鈥淭here are a lot of people who don鈥檛 remember Apollo. There are generations who weren鈥檛 alive when Apollo launched. This is their Apollo,鈥 said Fox, who was 4 when Apollo 17 closed out the era.
NASA is in it for the long haul this time. Unlike Apollo, which focused on fast flags and footprints in a breakneck race against the Soviet Union, Artemis is striving for a sustainable moon base elaborate enough to satisfy even the most hard-core science fiction fans. But make no mistake: Isaacman and the Trump Administration want the next boot prints to be made by Americans, not the Chinese.
Until Isaacman鈥檚 program makeover, Artemis III was crawling toward a moon landing no sooner than 2029. The billionaire spacewalker slid in a new Artemis III for 2027 so astronauts could practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. Astronauts鈥 momentous landing near the moon鈥檚 south pole shifted to Artemis IV in 2028 鈥 two years before an anticipated Chinese crew鈥檚 arrival.
Like Apollo 13 鈥 astronauts鈥 only moon landing miss 鈥 Artemis II will use a free-return, lunar flyby trajectory to get home with gravity鈥檚 tug and a minimum of gas. The gravity of both the moon and Earth will provide much if not most of the oomph to keep Orion on its out-and-back, figure-eight loop.
There are inherent dangers
The danger is right up there for Artemis II. NASA has refused to release its risk assessment for the mission. Managers contend it鈥檚 better than 50-50 鈥 the usual odds for a new rocket 鈥 but how much more is murky.
The SLS rocket leaked flammable hydrogen fuel during ground tests, a recurring problem that engineers still do not completely understand. The hydrogen leaks and unrelated helium blockages stalled the flight for two months, coming on top of years of vexing delays and cost overruns. Both problems also thwarted Artemis I, whose capsule returned with excessive heat shield damage. To NASA鈥檚 relief, Wednesday鈥檚 countdown was leak-free.
Beating the Soviet Union to the moon made the huge risks acceptable for Apollo, said Charlie Duke, one of only four surviving moonwalkers.
鈥淚鈥檓 cheering you on,鈥 Duke said in a note to Wiseman and before their flight.
During a weekend news conference, Koch stressed how humanity鈥檚 path to Mars goes through the moon, the proving ground for points beyond.
鈥淚t is our strong hope that this mission is the start of an era where everyone, every person on Earth, can look at the moon and think of it as also a destination,鈥 she said.
Added Glover: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the story of humanity. Not Black history, not women鈥檚 history, but that it becomes human history.鈥
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