Colorado's connection with the historic NASA Moon mission

Colorado companies are playing a major role in one of NASA’s most historic missions in decades.

The Artemis II launch is scheduled for Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center, sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

The crew will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft, designed and engineered by Lockheed Martin in Jefferson County. Meanwhile, the powerful launch system helping send them into deep space was built by United Launch Alliance in Centennial, in partnership with Boeing.

On board are astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — marking the first time a woman, a Black astronaut, and a non-American will take part in a lunar mission.

The crew is expected to spend 10 days traveling roughly 685-thousand miles, flying thousands of miles beyond the far side of the Moon — farther than any humans have gone before.

Mission managers say everything is on track for launch, with no major issues reported and favorable weather conditions expected.

This marks the first crewed mission in NASA’s Artemis program, following the successful uncrewed flight in 2022. The goal: to pave the way for future missions that will land astronauts back on the lunar surface.

Officials say once the rocket lifts off, the world will be watching — as a new chapter in human space exploration begins, with Colorado playing a key role in getting there.