NASA’s historic Artemis 2 moon mission is about to launch later immediately (April 1) from the Kennedy House Heart in Florida, taking a crew of 4 astronauts on a mission to the far aspect of the moon for the primary time since Apollo 17 left in 1972
Skywatchers in Florida and Southern Georgia may get to witness the historic occasion for themselves, because the 322-foot-tall House Launch System defies Earth’s gravity to hold NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian House Company‘s Jeremy Hansen to orbit.
Climate allowing, the launch might even be glimpsed from as far afield as the town of Savannah in southern Georgia, roughly 124 miles (200 kilometers) away, in response to a brand new NASA graphic posted to the social media website X.
The SLS rocket ought to turn into seen within the east for skywatchers within the close by metropolis of Orlando — about 50 miles (80 km) from the Kennedy launch pad — 10-20 seconds after liftoff. These in Tampa on the west coast of the peninsula and Jacksonville to the north will not see the rocket till 30-40 seconds after ignition.
Artemis 2 might be misplaced from view simply 70 seconds after launch, having ascended to an altitude of over 40,000 ft (12, 190 meters) on its journey to low-Earth orbit — step one in a 10-day mission that may take the Orion capsule on a mission to the far aspect of the moon.
Be sure to read our day-by-day breakdown of what to expect from each phase of the historic mission and to stay up to date with the latest news with our Artemis 2 live blog. You can also watch the launch live here on Space.com.
Editor’s Note: If you capture an image of the Artemis 2 launch and want to share it with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s)/footage, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
