Four astronauts will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades and have begun training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024. The Artemis II mission will build on Artemis I, an uncrewed test mission that sent NASA’s Orion capsule on a 1.4 million-mile voyage to lap the moon that concluded in December. The crew members, strapped inside the Orion spacecraft, will launch atop a NASA-developed Space Launch System rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The journey is expected to last about 10 days and will send the crew out beyond the moon, potentially further than any human has traveled in history, though the exact distance is yet to be determined. After circling the moon, the spacecraft will return to Earth for a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean. Artemis II is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA has vowed will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. It will also mark the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972. The Artemis III mission is expected to take off later this decade. NASA is targeting a 2025 launch date for Artemis III, though delays may push the mission to 2026 or later. What an exciting time for our country and for those of us who reside in FL to witness these massive lift-offs!