NASA has released new images of the Orion spacecraft, which is scheduled to fly to the Moon in the fall of 2025 as part of the Artemis-2 mission with four astronauts on board.

“The interior of the Orion cabin is being finalized at the Launch Control Center of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (USA). Teams are also “installing protective back panels and insulation on the exterior, and preparing Orion for vacuum testing this spring,” – declared representatives of NASA, writes Space.

The four Artemis 2 astronauts are NASA commander Reed Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover, who will become the first black person to leave low Earth orbit), a NASA specialist, and the first woman to fly to the moon, Christina Koch, a Canadian Space Agency specialist Jeremy Hansen.

The Orion spacecraft has already been in space twice, but in missions without a crew and without installed life support components.

The first was the Artemis 1 mission to a lunar orbit in late 2022 and a short trip to Earth orbit in 2014.

“Artemis-2” will be the first mission during which it is planned to land people on the moon. Both Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 were delayed in January due to several technical issues, with Artemis 2 pushed back by nine months to September 2025 and Artemis 3 by about a year to 2026.

The purpose of the Artemis program is to build a settlement on the south pole of the Moon to take advantage of the water resources there. More than 30 countries, including Canada, have signed agreements led by NASA to abide by the rules of peaceful space exploration and, in some cases, provide equipment for missions to the moon.

It will be recalled that NASA postponed the launch of “Artemis-1” as part of the first mission to the moon in 50 years due to problems with the engine.