Astronauts Suit Up for Their Journey to the Moon

Four astronauts recently suited up in bright orange spacesuits inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center, practicing for what could be humanity's return to lunar orbit as early as February — more than half a century after the last Apollo mission. The Artemis 2 crew, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch, conducted a full dress rehearsal for their upcoming journey around the Moon and back, a trip that will likely take them farther from Earth than any human has traveled before.

The weekend countdown demonstration simulated launch day procedures, from donning their Orion Crew Survival System suits to climbing in and out of the spacecraft. While the massive Space Launch System rocket isn't yet positioned at the historic Launch Complex 39B pad, the Orion capsule sits stacked and ready inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The rehearsal faced delays when engineers discovered issues with the crew module's thermal barrier that prevented proper hatch closure, but NASA maintains they're on track for the ambitious timeline. Unlike the upcoming Artemis 3 mission planned for 2027, this flight won't land on the lunar surface — but it represents a crucial step toward establishing a sustainable human presence beyond Earth's gravity well.