Artemis Two: First Crewed Moon Mission in 50 Years

0:00NASA's gearing up for Artemis II, the first crew trip to the moon since 1972. Four astronauts will blast off on the massive space launch system rocket, with the Orion capsule flying around the moon and looping back home and under. Ten days. No landing, just the high speed out and back to test the gear for future moon bases. This crew's stack with trailblazers, Commander Reed Wiseman, a Navy vet who's run the astronaut office, Victor Glover, first black astronaut on the space station, Christina Koch, holding the record for longest single flight by a woman at 328 days, and Jeremy Hansen from Canada, the space newbie but sharp fighter pilot, ages 47 to 50, they're diverse and ready. The rocket's taller than a football field at 322 feet, packing more punch than the old Saturn V, thanks to strap-on boosters, and shuttle engines. The hydrogen leaks delay things, first the unmanned test in 2022, then a fueling dress rehearsal,

1:00this February, pushing launch to April. Once airborne, they'll orbit Earth for 25 hours, practicing close maneuvers with the rocket's upper stage, using just their eyes. Then Orion's engine fires for a free return path to the moon, 244,000 miles away, zipping 5,000 miles past its bar. That beating a pile of 13's distance record, before splashing down 9 days later, eyes on that heat shield during reentry, after it got chewed up in the last test, they're tweaking the descent to baby it. Navy ships wait off San Diego for the Pacific Dunk, paving the way for boop prints next time around. From your city, powered by AI, this is Vancouver News today. I'm Corey with the story.