'I'm guiding historic Artemis mission - this is what the hours before launch were really like'

'I'm guiding historic Artemis mission - this is what the hours before launch were really like'A British scientist guiding the Artemis II mission as it heads on its quest around the far side of the moon has spoken about the atmosphere just hours before the launchCommentsNewsChristopher Sharp Trendswatch Reporter12:11, 06 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesThe Artemis II launch(Image: Getty)A British woman who is part of the team guiding the Artemis II mission on its historic voyage around the moon has spoken about what it was like in the build-up to the launch.‌The Artemis II mission launched from Cape Canaveral on April 1, bound for the moon with its four astronaut crew ahead of a potential mission to re-land on the celestial body for the first time since 1972.‌Nicola Fox, 57, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire was among the NASA team in charge of giving the go or no go call for the launch of the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft.‌Nicola, whose specialism is in solar science, originally joined NASA in 2018 to lead their heliophysics team before leading the Science Mission Directorate, a position that put her at the head of space-based research.Speaking to the Times about the atmosphere before the launch, she said there was a “very confident, calm feeling”.Nicola has spoken about her love for space and how she feels about her position at the renowned American organisation in a previous interview. In 2023, she told the Guardian how she “grew up sort of starstruck by space”.‌View 3 ImagesScience Mission Directorate, Nicola Fox(Image: Getty)Nicola’s comments come ahead of a major milestone for the crew as they’re expected to reach far side of the moon today (Monday, April 6). It will be another major step towards completing their mission.The crew, made up of Commander Reid Wiseman, 50, mission specialist Christina Kock, 47, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, 50, and pilot Victor J Glover, 49, will be engaging in a lunar fly around, breaking the record for the furthest humans ha...