The suits are also equipped with survival gear should they have to exit the spacecraft after splashdown.<\/p>\n
Each suit comes with its own life preserver that includes a personal locator beacon, a rescue knife, and a signaling kit with a mirror, strobe light, flashlight, whistle and light sticks.<\/p>\n
And the reason they\u2019re neon orange? \u201cTo make crew members easily visible in the ocean,\u201d NASA says<\/a>.<\/p>\n The astronauts will also be equipped with another spacesuit \u201cthat functions as a self-contained personal spaceship,\u201d and is designed to be worn outside the spacecraft.<\/p>\n When is Artemis II scheduled to launch? A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 1.<\/p>\n (ASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n After weeks of delays, NASA is targeting April 1 for the launch of the Artemis II mission \u2014 the first U.S. human lunar spaceflight in over 50 years.<\/p>\n The countdown clock officially started on Monday afternoon, and a two-hour launch window opens Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. ET, with additional launch opportunities through Monday, April 6.<\/p>\n The crew \u2014 NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen \u2014 won\u2019t be landing on the moon. Instead, they\u2019ll venture 600,000 miles around the moon and will return at 30 times the speed of sound, according to NASA.<\/p>\n During their 10-day trip, they\u2019ll test life support systems in the Orion capsule for future crewed missions to the moon\u2019s surface. A moon landing would occur during Artemis III, which is targeted to launch<\/a> in 2027.<\/p>\n How else is the crew preparing for the mission?<\/p>\n The Artemis II crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday and have been in quarantine ahead of launch.<\/p>\n The four astronauts have spent months getting to know each other while preparing for the launch, which Wiseman says has helped him as the mission’s commander.<\/p>\n \u201cI can just watch my crewmates here. I know their facial expressions. They know mine,\u201d Wiseman said during a virtual press conference on Sunday<\/a>. \u201cWe know when we’re tense. We know when an immediate decision needs to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiseman also said that the crew has practiced restraint.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to remind ourselves \u2014 every single time we fly, we say, \u2018No fast hands in the cockpit,\u2019\u201d he explained. \u201cYou do not want to do anything too quick in this vehicle. You need to take your time. You need to process everything.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe’re going to go slow and we have the ultimate trust in each other. And that’s how we will get through this.\u201d<\/p>\n Is the crew bringing anything special to space?<\/p>\n The astronauts will have a mascot named Rise<\/a>, designed by Lucas Ye, a second-grader from Mountain View, Calif., which will serve as a zero-gravity indicator to visually indicate when they are in space.<\/p>\n Ye\u2019s design was selected from more than 2,600 submissions from over 50 countries, according to NASA.<\/p>\n Inside the mascot is an SD card with the names of more than 5.6 million people who participated in the \u201cSend Your Name With Artemis\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n What will the crew eat?<\/p>\n The quality of airline food is often the butt of jokes, but NASA\u2019s menu for the Artemis crew is enough to make even Earth-bound diners jealous.<\/p>\n A total of 189 unique food items<\/a> will be brought along for the journey, including beef brisket, macaroni and cheese and cobbler. The food brought on board isn\u2019t just chosen for its taste, however. It\u2019s carefully chosen to meet the astronaut\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n According to NASA, food selections are \u201cdeveloped in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie needs, hydration, and nutrient intake while accommodating individual crew preferences.\u201d<\/p>\n Everything also needs to last without being refrigerated, and be easy to prepare and safe to eat in microgravity \u2014 that means minimal crumbs. Even with those restrictions, NASA is able to send a surprising variety of options, including 10 different drinks; five hot sauces; nine condiments, spreads and spices; and a variety of sweets.<\/p>\n Why does NASA want to go to the moon again?<\/p>\n The Artemis program is NASA\u2019s long-term mission to return humans to the moon to establish a continuous human presence. The goal is to develop a lunar settlement at its south pole, a region where it\u2019s believed water ice is abundant and could be used for drinking, breathing and as a source for rocket fuel.<\/p>\n Another long-term mission of Artemis is to lay the foundation for future crewed missions to Mars. The program is building on the legacy of the Apollo-era missions to the moon in the late 1960s and early \u201970s. The Artemis program is named for the ancient Greek goddess of the moon<\/a> \u2014 the twin sister of Apollo.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is our strong hope that this mission is the start of an era where everyone \u2014 every person on earth \u2014 look at the moon and think of it as also a destination,\u201d Koch said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/431b6140-2c36-11f1-b5df-998c6a002dfa.jpeg\"\/)
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