SAN DIEGO — NASA's Artemis II is running tests leading up to its journey around the moon. After the mission, astronauts will be returning to earth in the Orion capsule and splashing down off our coast.
Naval Base San Diego will be helping to retrieve the four astronauts and capsule after returning to earth from their 10-day mission. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen will be on board.
"We're excited to be the first crew in over fifty years to go out to the moon and back," Wiseman said.
The mission will mark the first time we will see a woman and a black astronaut step foot on the moon.
"All the different things that are going to be a first in this mission. It doesn't matter if you're a first if there's no second thirds or fourths and that's what I think about. It is doing the best at our job so that the American people and international partners continue having faith," Glover said.
When crews return to earth, the U.S. Navy will be helping them with teams of sailors, ships and helicopters. They'll retrieve the capsule after making splashdown 60 miles off the coast. That's expected to happen between Catalina Island and San Clemente.
"This is crazy. This is the stuff of movies that we're living everyday. I'm lucky I get to fly with three of the greatest human beings I've ever met in my life," Wiseman said.
The ultimate goal of Artemis is to prepare for human expeditions on Mars. The astronauts shared what it means to them.
"It's answering those fundamental questions we all have about ourselves. What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe? How did we all get here? Those are the questions we can answer on the moon and on mars," Koch said.
NASA says Artemis II is set to happen in September 2025. Artemis III is planned for 2028 with crews touching down on the moon.
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