For the first time since 1972, human beings are about to travel to the Moon.
Nasa’s Artemis-II mission is set to lift off tonight, and you can watch every thrilling moment of it live, from the comfort of your home.
The ten-day mission will carry Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a path around the Moon and back to Earth.
The mission will humanity’s yet another daring voyage to space to gather wisdom that will inform future journeys.
WHEN WILL ARTEMIS-II LAUNCH?
The countdown has already begun at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with liftoff targeted at 3:54 am IST on Thursday, April 2.
Artemis-II will be the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The mission is also historic in other ways. Glover would become the first person of colour, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-US citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The crew will not land on the lunar surface. Rather, the mission is designed as a stepping stone toward a crewed Moon landing planned for 2028. The anticipated Artemis-II mission will work on testing the spacecraft, the rocket, and the astronauts themselves before the real thing.
The 10-day flight will help confirm systems and hardware needed for early human lunar exploration missions. It builds on the success of Artemis I, the uncrewed test flight completed in 2022.
The weather is looking encouraging as the forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favourable conditions.
WHERE TO WATCH ARTEMIS II LAUNCH?
You don’t need a rocket ticket to witness this moment.
India Today Science will be covering the space mission live, documenting each moment of history being made with the liftoff from Nasa’s space center in Florida. You can follow the live coverage here.
WATCH ARTEMIS-II MOON MISSION LAUNCH HERE
Nasa+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Nasa’s official YouTube channel will also be showing the launch live.
Broadcast coverage with live views and audio commentary begins earlier at 5:15 PM IST, as teams load propellant into the rocket.
For those who want to follow Orion’s path in real time, Nasa’s Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) lets you track the spacecraft’s journey around the Moon starting about one minute after liftoff, showing its location, speed, and distance from Earth.
