The moon is calling, and San Diego has a front-row seat.

NASA's Artemis II mission — the first crewed lunar flight since Apollo 17 in 1972 — is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, April 1, no earlier than 3:24 p.m. Pacific time. After a 10-day journey around the Moon, the Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 50 miles off the coast of San Diego.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are already at Kennedy Space Center preparing for the historic flight. At a press conference Friday, Wiseman declared, "We're ready, the rocket is ready, we are ready, NASA is ready, this vehicle is definitely ready to go."

The recovery operation will deploy directly from Naval Base San Diego, with Navy divers and a naval ship positioned at sea well before splashdown to transport the astronauts and spacecraft safely. Lisa Seiler, NASA's Artemis Deputy Landing Recovery Director, said her team of more than 100 NASA and contractor personnel — along with U.S. Navy support — will be in position "within 24 hours just prior" to the splashdown location. Once the crew is safely aboard the ship, plans call for them to be transported to North Island Air Station in Coronado for medical evaluation before returning to Johnson Space Center.

Artemis II will take the crew further from Earth than any humans have ever traveled, flying approximately 250,000 miles from Earth and about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. The primary objective is to test the Orion spacecraft's life support systems with a live crew aboard — a critical step before NASA aims to land astronauts back on the Moon with Artemis III.

For East County and San Diego residents, the mission offers a rare opportunity to witness space history unfold just miles offshore. Watch for Navy and Coast Guard activity off the coast around April 10-11 as recovery teams await the returning crew.