KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  NASA Artemis II Moonshot crew flew from NASA’s Johnsson Space Center and arrived today, March 27, aboard two NASA T-38 jets into NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida at the former shuttle landing strip at about 2:30 p.m. ET –in preparation for the Artemis II test flight targeting April 1 for a 10 day mission around the Moon and back. .

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon and they participated in a media Q & A arrival event on the tarmac

The crew comprises NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen

“Hey were going to the moon” exclaimed NASA astronaut commander Reid Wiseman after stepping onto the tarmac surrounded by his Artemis II crewmates

Enjoy our photos for Space UpClose taken by Ken Kremer

Artemis II counts as the 1st Lunar crew in over >50 years.

They will venture further out than any humans before in history!

The crew has been in quarantine since March 20, when SLS and Orion stack were rolled out from KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex-39B (LC-39B.

Liftoff is targeting April 1 at 6:24 p.m. ET from pad 39B at NASA KSC, for launch within a two-hour window

During the arrival event  they unveiled their Zero-G simulator nicknamed “Rise”

During remarks at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman announced “Rise,” designed by Lucas Ye of Mountain View, California, as the zero gravity indicator that will fly with the crew around the Moon.

“Rise” was inspired by the iconic Earthrise moment from the Apollo 8 mission. A zero gravity indicator is a small plush item that typically rides with a crew to visually indicate when they are in space.

The design was selected from more than 2,600 submissions from over 50 countries, including K-12 students, that were part of a Moon Mascot contest. During the selection process, the crew narrowed a list of 25 finalists to five top designs, including:

“Big Steps of Little Octopus,” Anzhelika Iudakova, Finland

“Corey the Explorer,” Daniela Colina, Peru

“Creation Mythos,” Johanna Beck, McPherson, Kansas

“Lepus the Moon Rabbit,” Oakville Trafalgar School, Canada

“Rise,” Lucas Ye, Mountain View, California

I was fortunate to again meet the crew and even got to ask the 2nd to last question about the outreach activities they will be doing during the 10 day flight.

At the end we surprisingly had the chance to ask questions to the NASA and CSA Administrators

I had the first question and asked about Canadas future in moon activity following the cancellation of the Gateway lunar station and Canadian moon rover.

While work continues to prepare the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and ground systems for launch, the crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will review their launch day timeline and mission activities, participate in medical checkouts, and spend time with family.

Ken Kremer Recent TV Interviews

How, why and whats up with new NASA Artemis 2,3,4 mission planning timelines and goals in the meantime.

Watch my complete live interview

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-3f8esf3r7ac76uzx

Caption: NASA has unveiled a timeline to get astronauts up on the moon once again. This time: $20 billion are being invested into a moon base project that would see astronauts up for a specific period of time, happening in the near future. FOX35 News+ Anchor Garrett Wymer spoke with Ken Kremer, Managing Editor for Space Upclose about this and the future of space travel.

Fox 35 Complete live interview video:

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-vihrm1hbp25zq1hj

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/could-nasa-s-artemis-2-rollout-get-delayed-again/vi-AA1YZVXO?ocid=BingNewsVerp

https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/could-nasas-artemis-2-rollout-160318868.html

Wesh 2 NBC Orlando Mar 25:

https://www.wesh.com/article/nasa-shifts-focus-to-moon-missions-iss-retirement-looms/70848583

More photos by Ken Kremer

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