Tallahasseeans may be able to catch a glimpse of the Artemis II mission launch if they look to the sky at just the right moment.
Or they could see it up close and personal if they take a trip to the Challenger Learning Center.
The center is hosting a launch watch party in the Fogg Planetarium for folks who can’t make it to the Kennedy Space Center.
“History is calling, and this time, you can watch it unfold right here,” the center’s website says of the launch party.
The event is free and open to the public and will start at 6 p.m. on April 1. NASA is scheduled to launch the Artemis II mission between 6:24 p.m. and 8:24 p.m.
Artemis II is the first crewed moon flight since the Apollo era of the 1970s and a significant step in the Artemis program that will return humans to the surface of the moon, picking up where it left off with the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The crew will launch from Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center spacecraft atop NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, taking the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day test flight around the moon.
Will the space craft land on the moon?
No, the craft will not land on the moon, but it will fly around it, marking another deep venture since the 1970s.
The flight is expected to last 10 days and will set the stage for the upcoming Artemis III test flight in 2027, Artemis IV landing in 2028, and NASA’s plans to set up a lunar base.
Will Tallahassee see the launch?
Tallahassee might be able to catch sight of the Artemis II mission launch about 70 seconds after launch, but Florida’s capital city is right on the edge of the visibility map shared by NASA.
One plus, the Tallahassee region is expecting low cloud coverage this evening according to the National Weather Service. But the viewing window is problematic and tricky at best.
It is around the 70 second mark when the rocket will rise above 40,000 feet and fall out of visibility range.
So, good luck.
Who are the astronauts on board?
The crew includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
Follow along with live updates
As the countdown continues, our sister paper Florida Today is offering live updates. Click here for the latest.
Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.Â
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Artemis II moon mission launch and Tallahassee viewing