For the first time in over 50 years, humanity is headed back to lunar orbit.
NASA is set to launch the Artemis II mission during a two-hour window opening today** at 6:24 p.m. ET**.
While the countdown saw a brief pause for technical tweaks at Kennedy Space Center, the stage is set for a giant leap into the next era of space exploration.
This mission marks the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that astronauts will venture beyond low-Earth orbit.
The crew of four, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will spend 10 days journeying around the moon before splashing back down to Earth.
While this crew won't actually step onto the lunar surface, staying thousands of miles away at their closest point, the stakes are incredibly high.
Artemis II is the ultimate stress test for the Orion spacecraft.
NASA needs to prove the capsule's life support systems can keep humans alive in deep space before they attempt a landing, currently aimed for 2028.
The mission represents a rare moment of political and scientific continuity, beginning under the first Trump administration and carried forward by the Biden administration.
Following the successful uncrewed Artemis I flight in 2022, this mission is the final hurdle before NASA partners with SpaceX or Blue Origin to put boots back on the moon.
After decades of staying close to home on the International Space Station, NASA is finally looking outward again.
If all goes well tonight, the moon will no longer be a distant memory, but a destination once more.