The Artemis II astronauts arrived Friday at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, joining the towering Space Launch System rocket set to carry them around the moon, the first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century.

Commander Reid Wiseman flew in from Houston with crewmates NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. The arrival marked their closest step yet to launch, after months of delays caused by rocket fuel leaks and technical issues. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell, and dozens of NASA officials and journalists greeted the crew.

“Hey, let’s go to the moon!” Wiseman shouted to the crowd. Hansen added, “So ‘Allons-y!’ — French for let’s go.”

NASA is targeting liftoff as early as Wednesday, with a narrow window in the first week of April before a nearly month-long pause. Wiseman cautioned the launch could slip to May or June, noting the rocket has only flown once before, an uncrewed test mission in 2022.

The Orion capsule atop the rocket will carry the four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the moon, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Artemis II mission is the first step in NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to build a sustainable lunar base. Upcoming milestones include a 2027 lunar lander demonstration and one or two crewed lunar landings in 2028. Koch described the evolving program as “motivating and inspiring,” likening it to a relay race that drives the team forward.