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Yesterday my son popped into my office and said,

Hey, did you know Artemis II is launching today?

I'd totally forgotten it was the big day.

I quickly tuned into YouTube, watch the launch,

and then continued to watch as it left Earth's atmosphere

and headed for its 10-day journey around the moon.

Have you heard about the Artemis II mission?

Right now, the Artemis 2 mission is underway, carrying humans farther from Earth than any crew has traveled in more than 50 years.

Artemis 2 is part of NASA's Artemis program, a series of missions designed to

help humans return to the moon and prepare for future journeys to Mars. The astronauts are flying

aboard the Orion spacecraft, which sits on top of the powerful space launch system, often called SLS.

This rocket is one of the most powerful ever built.

It produces millions of pounds of thrust, pushing the spacecraft out of Earth's gravity and into deep space.

Yesterday the launch took place after years of preparation, engineers carefully checked every system on the rocket and space. Yesterday the launch took place after years of preparation, engineers carefully checked every

system on the rocket and spacecraft. Astronauts trained for months to prepare for the journey.

They practiced working together, solving problems, and learning how to operate the spacecraft

safely. Now, all that training is being put to use as the mission continues.

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