Artemis II astronauts arrive at Florida launch site for first moon trip
in 53 years
[March 28, 2026]
By MARCIA DUNN
CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The astronauts set to become the first lunar
visitors in more than half a century arrived at their launch site
Friday, joining the towering rocket that stands poised to blast off next
week and send them around the moon.
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman flew in with his three crewmates from
Houston. It was the closest they've come to launching. Fuel leaks and
other rocket issues caused two months of delay and double hangar-to-pad
rollouts. |
Artemis 2 crew members, from left, Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, of
Canada, Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot
Victor Glover pose for a photo after the crew's arrival at the Kennedy
Space Center Friday, March 27, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP
Photo/Chris O'Meara) |
|
NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman greeted the astronauts
as they emerged from their T-38 training jets at Kennedy Space
Center. Besides Wiseman, the crew includes NASA's Victor Glover
and Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. The welcoming
committee also included the Canadian Space Agency's president,
Lisa Campbell, dozens of NASA managers and more than 100
journalists.
“Hey, let's go to the moon!” Wiseman shouted to the crowd. “I
think the nation and the world have been waiting a long time to
do this again.”
“We're all fired up to go do this,” Hansen added. “So ‘Allons-y!’
" — French for let's go.
NASA is aiming for liftoff as soon as Wednesday. The space
agency has the first six days of April to launch the Space
Rocket System rocket before standing down for nearly a month.
Wiseman stressed there's no guarantee they will launch in early
April as planned, and that it could slip to May or even June.
The Space Launch System rocket has soared only once before; the
crew-less test flight to the moon was back in 2022.
“That’s this business,” Glover said of all the delays. “It will
go when the engines light at T-zero, and we totally understand
that.”
The Orion capsule atop the rocket will carry the four on NASA's
first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. The 10-day
flight will end with a Pacific splashdown.
Earlier this week, Isaacman outlined a fresh plan for the moon
base that NASA intends to build under the Artemis program. The
upcoming moonshot will be followed in 2027 by a lunar lander
demo in orbit around Earth and in 2028 by one and possibly two
lunar landings by astronauts.
Koch said the changes are motivating and inspiring. “We're in a
relay race ... and if nothing else this just fired us up for
that all the more."
___
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