CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Fifty-four years after astronauts from Apollo 17 walked on the lunar surface, a new team arrived at the launch site here to prepare for a blast off next week and send them around the moon.
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and his three crewmates flew in from Houston. It was the closest they've come to launching. Fuel leaks and other rocket issues caused a two-month delay and double hangar-to-pad rollouts.
NASA's new chief, Jared Isaacman, welcomed the astronauts as they got out of their T-38 training jets at Kennedy Space Center. Along with Reid Wiseman, the crew includes Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. They were greeted by many people, including Lisa Campbell, NASA officials, and over 100 journalists.
"Let's go to the moon!" Wiseman shouted, saying people have been waiting a long time for this. Hansen added that the team is excited and ready to go.
NASA hopes to launch as early as April 1, with the first few days of April as the main window. But Wiseman said the launch might be delayed until May or June. The Space Launch System rocket has only flown once before, in an uncrewed test in 2022.
Glover said delays are normal and the mission will only happen when everything is ready.
The Orion capsule will carry the four astronauts on NASA's first crewed moon mission since Apollo 17. The trip will last 10 days and end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Earlier this week, Isaacman shared a new plan for building a moon base under NASA's Artemis program. After this mission, NASA plans a lunar lander test in 2027 and one or two astronaut landings in 2028.
Koch said the new plans are exciting and motivating, likening the effort to a relay race in which each step brings them closer to the goal.
The last time U.S. astronauts traveled to the Moon was during Apollo 17, which took place from December 7 to 19, 1972. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed on the Moon, while Ronald Evans stayed in orbit above it. Cernan was the last person to walk on the Moon's surface.
