The Artemis II astronauts are already the champions of a fresh new era of lunar exploration. Now it’s time to set a new distance record.

NASA granted KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding rare access inside Mission Control at Johnson Space Center as the Artemis II crew travels toward the moon, offering a firsthand look at the team responsible for guiding the historic mission.

It’s humanity’s first flight to the moon since 1972.

Four Astronauts, one Mission, 230,000 Miles

It will be years before the European Space Agency can send one of its astronauts to the moon, but the agency says it’s time to start practicing as it opened a facility in Germany that will let astronauts train in conditions like those on the lunar surface.

NASA named three Americans and one Canadian to the Artemis II crew during a ceremony in Houston Monday.

Half a century after U.S. astronauts brought it back from the moon’s surface, a minute piece of extraterrestrial rock has finally reached its intended destination, the east Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.

When NASA launched the Artemis I mission early Wednesday morning, it was something people had waited weeks, months, years, and even decades to see happen. The flight is unmanned, but it marks a milestone in the work being done to return humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.

While many in Houston and across the country were sleeping, NASA made history by successfully launching the Orion capsule into space and to the moon. Here are some of the images captured at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA is counting down to this week's planned liftoff of its new moon rocket, although hurricane damage could cause yet another delay.

NASA is again postponing the launch of its new moon rocket because of a storm threatening the Florida coast.

NASA's moon rocket is safely back inside its hangar as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida, its launch now unlikely before mid-November.

NASA's new moon rocket sprouted more fuel leaks in a test ahead of a possible launch attempt next week.

The University of Houston will have microchips that were created in one of their labs head to outer space during the Artemis 1 mission.

Cape Canaveral, Florida has been a busy destination this weekend for spectators awaiting NASA’s first Artemis test mission to the moon.

NASA's new moon rocket makes its debut next week in a high-stakes test flight before astronauts get on top.

NASA's new moon rocket has arrived at the launch pad for its first test flight.

NASA will host a briefing at 10 a.m. to preview the upcoming Artemis I lunar mission.

NASA is planning to conduct the Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal of the Orion spacecraft to practice what needs to be done prior to its launch date.

The flight debut of NASA's mega moon rocket faces additional delays following a string of failed fueling tests.

NASA's latest attempt to fuel its huge moon rocket for a countdown test has been thwarted by a hazardous hydrogen leak.

NASA’s dress rehearsal for its mega moon rocket has been postponed twice now by technical problems that stalled a fueling test.

NASA is kicking off a critical countdown test for its new moon rocket.

Moonwalkers of the Artemis generation are going to need some new gear and very soon if NASA plans to achieve its goal.

This time, the U.S. plans to stay on the moon with a sustainable presence with the help of international and commercial partners.

On Friday, NASA announced SpaceX will build a spacecraft that would land astronauts on the moon for the first time since the last Apollo mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA has named the 18 astronauts — half of them women — who will train for its Artemis moon-landing program. The first woman and next man on the moon will come from this elite group. Half of the NASA astronauts have spaceflight experience. Two are at the International Space Station right now: Kate Rubins and Victor Glover. The other experienced members on the list include Kjell Lindgren, Anne McClain and Scott Tingle, all former space station residents.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The moon’s shadowed, frigid nooks and crannies may hold frozen water in more places and in larger quantities than previously suspected. And for the first time, the presence of water on the moon’s sunlit surface has been confirmed, scientists reported Monday. While previous observations have indicated millions of tons of ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon’s poles, a pair of studies in the journal Nature Astronomy take the availability of lunar surface water to a new level. The presence of water in sunlit surfaces had been previously suggested, but not confirmed. For now, Sofia can analyze only the moon's outermost surface, but these water molecules could be buried yards (meters) deep, Honniball noted.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s new moonshot rules: No fighting and littering. The space agency released a set of guidelines Tuesday for its Artemis moon-landing program, based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and other agreements. Founding members include the U.S., Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The coalition can say, “Look, you’re in this program with the rest of us, but you’re not playing by the same rules,” Bridenstine said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.

NASA has announced the 18 astronauts who are part of the agency’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the moon and eventually send the first humans to Mars.