The launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Fla., is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET. The on-site countdown clock began ticking down at 4:44 p.m. on Monday.
With that countdown underway, engineers are powering up flight hardware, checking communication links and preparing the rocket's cryogenic systems for the precise fueling sequence required to load hundreds of thousands of gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, according to a NASA release.
The crew, U.S. astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are in quarantine under "strict health monitoring" and are completing medical checks to "ensure fitness for launch," the agency noted.
The four have been following a controlled sleep schedule and nutrition plan to "maintain energy and hydration for launch," and they have received updates on the rocket's configuration and weather conditions from crew quarters.
"Things are certainly starting to feel real," Koch said during a Sunday news conference, according to The New York Times.
The Artemis II will follow the uncrewed Artemis I moon-orbiting mission in 2022, which marked NASA's return to lunar exploration after a 50-year pause following the final Apollo flight in December 1972.
Wednesday's mission will take the astronauts on a 10-day voyage around the moon.
During the mission, NASA will test the Orion spacecraft's life support systems for the first time with people and "lay the groundwork" for future crewed Artemis missions, NASA said in another Monday release.
"What an exciting day for AMERICAN SPACE DOMINANCE," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is serving as acting NASA administrator, wrote on social platform X earlier Wednesday.
Read more at TheHill.com and watch the launch live here.
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