The four astronauts scheduled to fly NASA’s Artemis II test flight arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, March 27. The mission, which will send the crew around the Moon, is now targeting a launch as soon as Wednesday, April 1, within a two-hour window opening at 6:24 p.m. EDT. Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman confirmed the arrival during remarks at the Launch and Landing Facility, where he also announced the selection of a zero gravity indicator for the mission.
The chosen item, named “Rise,” was designed by Lucas Ye of Mountain View, California. It was inspired by the iconic Earthrise image from the Apollo 8 mission. Zero gravity indicators are small plush items that travel with crews to signal when they enter space. “Rise” was selected from over 2,600 submissions in a Moon Mascot contest that drew entries from more than 50 countries, including K-12 students.
The Artemis II crew narrowed 25 finalists to five top designs before choosing “Rise.” Other finalists included “Big Steps of Little Octopus” by Anzhelika Iudakova of Finland and “Corey the Explorer” by Daniela Colina of Peru. The contest aimed to engage global audiences in the mission, with the winning design symbolizing the historic significance of lunar exploration.
The arrival of the crew marks a key step in preparations for the uncrewed Artemis I mission, which tested the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The launch window remains flexible, with weather and technical checks influencing the final date. NASA officials have not yet confirmed if the April 1 date will hold, but the crew’s arrival underscores the agency’s progress toward returning humans to the Moon.