We are about 48 hours from the launch of the Artemis II mission around the Moon. When asked by the press about the exact duration of the mission, Nelson indicated that she estimated it at about 10 days. "I don't want to tempt the gods of space by saying I know exactly what will happen or how the engine ignitions will be carried out, because obviously things can change during the flight. And it is an incredible moment for the Artemis generation; we are excited and ready to proceed," emphasized Emily Nelson, NASA's Chief Flight Director. The countdown begins. Teams at NASA's Kennedy have arrived at their stations in the Launch Control Center. NASA began the countdown for Artemis II this Monday, a historic mission that will mark the return of astronauts to lunar orbit for the first time in over half a century, and assured that the program is in "excellent shape," offering a positive report with just two days to go until the launch. The countdown began today at 4:44 p.m., marking the formal start of the final pre-launch phase, the U.S. space agency detailed at a press conference. The countdown was launched with an 80% probability of favorable weather conditions, although NASA warned about possible strong winds and cloudiness as main risks. "All signals indicate at this moment that we are in excellent, excellent shape as we enter the countdown," stated Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson to the press. Two days before liftoff, the agency is fully ready for its most ambitious mission in decades, which plans to take four astronauts to lunar orbit for the first time since Apollo 17. The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and the Orion spacecraft are already on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, from where the liftoff is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. (local time). NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen, make up the crew of the mission, which aims to be the first to travel to lunar orbit since 1972. "The opportunity is huge to finally be able to send our crew farther than anyone has gone before. If you do the math, maybe it won't be 10 full days, but I'm going to round up," she explained. The four astronauts, who were accompanied by their families in Florida these past few days, left their quarantine last Friday and held their last press conference over the weekend before the trip. NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said they have "no concerns about the mission in general," not even those related to a massive solar flare over the weekend. A colossal flare caused a radio blackout in parts of Asia and Australia as it erupted from an active sunspot Sunday night. The flare also launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) of solar plasma toward Earth, but space weather is expected to stabilize before NASA launches Artemis II. "We do not expect the CME to cause any effects," Kshatriya specified. Artemis II has got it all. But, in general, for a launch planned for April 1, the landing would be April 10. Adventure. Don't miss the moment. Wonder.
