NASA has issued a statement after its astronauts have entered a brutal quarantine before making the furthest journey humans have ventured on since 1972.
This comes as the space agency continues to make steps towards putting humans back on the Moon.
The Artemis II mission is set to launch next month, with four astronauts - NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen - will embark on a trip around the Moon.
However, they will first need to go through a brutal two weeks of quarantine in order to minimize their chances of getting sick.
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In a statement, NASA said: “Beginning quarantine now preserves flexibility as teams work toward potential opportunities in the February launch period.
“At this time, the agency still has not set an official launch date as testing continues for the rocket and spacecraft. Pending the outcome of the wet dress rehearsal or other operations considerations, the crew can come out of quarantine, and re-enter 14 days before any launch date.”
During the quarantine, the astronauts will still be able to contact their loved ones but they will need to keep their distance, wear masks and avoid going into public places.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said: “Artemis II will be a momentous step forward for human spaceflight. This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the Moon - all with America at the helm.
“Artemis II represents progress toward establishing a lasting lunar presence and sending Americans to Mars. I could not be more impressed by our NASA team and the Artemis II crew, and wish them well. Boldly forward.”
This mission comes after the uncrewed Artemis I mission back in 2022.
For Artemis II, the plan by NASA is to ‘demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions’.
This will be the first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft and will take the astronauts 10 days to lift off, orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
This will be a huge milestone for NASA as it will be the furthest humanity has gone since 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission.
While that was the last time that humans stepped foot on the Moon, the astronauts involved in Artemis II won’t be landing on the lunar surface.
It won’t be until 2027 that astronauts will finally return to the Moon as part of the Artemis III mission.