BATON ROUGE — For the first time in over 50 years, humans will be heading to the Moon.

A crew of four astronauts will lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft during a window of 5:24 p.m. to 7:24 p.m.

The Artemis II crew includes three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

The Artemis missions are designed to allow astronauts to explore the moon for scientific discovery and economic benefits. The missions also aim to build momentum for the first crewed missions to Mars.

The crew will not land on the moon, but circle Earth's satellite. 

"It's important that we continue to look elsewhere and look up," Louisiana Art and Science Museum Director of Education and Aerospace Krystal Swain said. "There's a fascination with the stars and the sky from a very young age. We ultimately want to go to Mars, and this is how we prepare." 

Artemis II is expected to be followed by Artemis III in mid-2027, with the first new lunar landing since 1972 planned for Artemis IV in mid-2028. The culmination of the Artemis program will be Artemis V, expected for a late 2028 launch. This final mission is when NASA expects to start construction on a Moon base.

Abigail Whitam with 2une In was live at LASM to learn more about the mission and space travel in general. If you would like to attend Astro camp or any of their Beat the Heat summer programs, click here.