NASA announces this Monday the crew of the Artemis II mission that will travel to the Moon

Humanity is about to take another step towards returning to the Moon.

And it is that this Monday, April 3, NASA will announce the names of the three Americans and one Canadian who will launch next year on a lunar mission called Artemis II. In 2024 they will fly around the Moon and become the first humans to see this place up close in 50 years.

They will also be the first humans to fly in the new Orion spacecraft, which completed an unmanned automated mission last year. But what is the mission?

some critical moments

Shortly after launch on an SLS rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, they will go through a series of critical moments. Orion will launch its thrusters and other components, and the main engine will shut down and detach.

And then comes the exciting part, what’s called a translunar injection, when a key part of Orion built in Europe—known as the ESA Service Module— it will propel Orion out of Earth orbit and toward the Moon.

At that time, all four crew members will be able to remove themselves from the new custom-made orange Orion flight suits they will wear during launch and reentry. They are waterproof, fire retardant and they can keep the crew alive for six days in the event of a loss of cabin pressure.

They won’t set foot on the moon

It’s a relatively long journey: the four Artemis II astronauts will spend **9 days and 13 hours flying 370,000 kilometers to the Moon.**Once there, they will orbit the Moon for six days.

The four astronauts, whose names are about to be announced, will not touch any lunar rocks or descend to Earth’s satellite. At least this time, although they do have an important role. And it is that already in 2025, theArtemis missionIII will allow astronauts to land on the South Pole of the Moonthe area chosen by NASA as the best place to install a permanent lunar base.

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