Artemis II: US Moonshot vs China's Lunar Surge
NASA's Artemis II crew locks in for April 1 lunar flyby, thrusting America back into the moon race against China's fast-rising program—quarantine drama, tech tests, and stakes for the solar system high ground.

Picture this: Four astronauts bunkered down in sterile quarantine suites at Kennedy Space Center, trading final high-fives before suiting up for a ride that hasn't happened since Nixon was president. Artemis II isn't some dusty museum piece—it's NASA's gut-check moment, launching April 1 at 6:24 p.m. ET aboard the behemoth Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. CBS News captured the crew's steely resolve: "ready to go," they said, eyes on a 10-day loop around the moon's far side. That's farther...