While Artemis II won’t land, its successor, Artemis III, is expected to launch and land on the surface of the moon mid-2027. NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build the vehicle that will carry astronauts to the moon.

Training is underway for NASA’s newest class of astronaut candidates at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. The nearly two-year long process began this past September for the four men and six women of Astronaut Group 24.

Crew-12 will fly to the orbiting laboratory aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA says it is reviewing options to move the launch earlier than its original target date of Sunday, Feb. 15.

SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink commercial satellites on Groundhog Day from Vandenberg. Will it be visible in Arizona?