Artemis II: NASA says Moon mission is critical to "future" of spaceflight before Mars | FULL

On Tuesday, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials announced that its Artemis II crew — including the Canadian Space Agency’s own astronaut Jeremy Hansen — has officially seen the spacecraft it will be using for its anticipated journey around the Moon in November 2024.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said seeing the spacecraft sent "shivers" down their spines, later dubbing the upcoming mission a "step forward into the next chapter of our destiny in human spaceflight."

The mission will pave the way for future long-term human exploration missions to the lunar surface and then eventually, Mars, which NASA's deputy administrator Pam Melroy emphasized.

"The critical focus of this mission, is to do that test flight, to push the boundaries, to learn about this vehicle and its capabilities so that we can continue to do amazing things on the surface of the moon and then eventually on Mars. And this is the beginning of that cadence," the longtime astronaut said.

Artemis II will be the first-ever crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term lunar presence for science and exploration under Artemis, and is the first mission to send astronauts to the Moon in more than 50 years.

Officials also provided updates on the mission preparations and crew training, with details from the astronauts themselves.