Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, April 1, humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two years.

NASA's launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket early Wednesday, setting the stage for blast off in the evening at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are on board. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come straight back. No circling around the moon, no stopping for a moonwalk — just a quick out-and-back lasting less than 10 days. NASA promises more boot prints in the gray lunar dust, but not before a couple practice missions.

Source: Associated Press

NASA prepares for Artemis II moon mission launch

The United States is preparing for its first crewed mission toward the moon in more than fifty years. Artemis II will send four astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have traveled since Apollo — including the first woman and the first African American ever assigned to a lunar mission. It's a crucial test flight for NASA's push to build a long‑term presence on the moon and eventually reach Mars. CGTN's Nitza Soledad Pérez reports from Miami.

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