Video: Orion launch replays

Eighteen astronauts have been selected — nine men and nine women — to begin training for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, NASA announced Wednesday. The list includes the as-yet-unnamed next man and first woman who will set foot on the lunar surface later this decade.

The four astronauts will spend more than nine days onboard their Orion spacecraft and is poised to pass the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39B is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC).

The three U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station said Monday they’re ready to sign up for a trip to the moon if NASA can meet the Trump administration’s newly stated goal of returning Americans to the lunar surface within the next five years.