Artemis II Crew Boards Orion Capsule Ahead of Historic Moon Mission Launch

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission boarded the Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B on Wednesday afternoon, sealing themselves inside the 16.5-foot-wide capsule named Integrity as the agency's launch team counted down toward a 6:24 p.m. EDT liftoff marking humanity's first voyage beyond low Earth orbit in more than 53 years.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen arrived at the pad around 2:13 p.m. EDT aboard the traditional Astrovan before the closeout crew began inspecting seals, securing fasteners, and verifying the hatch was airtight. With the capsule sealed, the crew turned to communication checks, confirming voice links with mission control and onboard systems.

The nine-and-a-half-day mission launched atop NASA's Space Launch System, which stands 322 feet tall and weighed 5.7 million pounds at liftoff, making it the most powerful operational booster in the world and only its second flight overall. On flight day six, Orion was expected to reach its farthest point from Earth, approximately 5,000 miles beyond the moon's far side, setting a new human distance record of roughly 252,000 miles. That figure would surpass the Apollo 13 mark of 248,655 miles, a record that has stood since 1970.

The mission carried a constellation of personal firsts. Glover became the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Koch, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman after her 328-day International Space Station stay spanning 2019 and 2020, became the first woman to venture into deep space. Hansen became the first Canadian and first non-American to travel to the moon's vicinity.

"Hey, let's go to the moon!" Wiseman told reporters upon arriving at Kennedy Space Center earlier in the week. "I think the nation and the world has been waiting a long time to do this again." He was also direct about the mission's scope: "This is a test mission. When we get off the planet, we might come right back home. We might spend three or four days around Earth. We might go to the moon. That's where we want to go, but it is a test mission, and we are ready for every scenario."

Weather conditions held at an 80% favorable forecast for the launch window. Former NASA administrator and astronaut Charles Bolden joined CBS News during the crew's boarding to discuss the significance of the moment. Artemis II is designed as a comprehensive checkout of Orion's communications, navigation, propulsion, and maneuvering systems, with NASA targeting 2028 for the first crewed lunar landing under the broader Artemis program.