On April 1, at Cocoa Beach in Florida, many tourists gathered to wait for the moment of launching the Artemis 2 spacecraft, a mission considered to be historic in the human space exploration journey.
Mr. Jason Heath, 40 years old, traveled with his family from Maine to Florida but was surprised to realize that they had the opportunity to "witness history". He said that it was very impressive that humans were preparing to fly further than ever, while his daughter and granddaughter were also excited to be here.
After many years of delay, Artemis 2 is expected to take three US astronauts and one Canadian astronaut to carry out a flight far exceeding the record distance previously set in Apollo missions, going deeper into space than any previous manned flight.
This is the first lunar mission in more than 50 years, and also marks the first time a person of color, a woman and a non-American astronaut have participated in a flight around the Moon.
According to local media, about 400,000 people are expected to gather to watch the launch, scheduled for the evening of April 1 local time.
In the coastal area, Ms. Alyx Coster, 38 years old, and her children enjoyed a vacation when the temperature was around 25 degrees Celsius. Her family from Minnesota initially did not know about this event, but then quickly realized they had arrived at a special time. She said her children were very excited and proud to witness a historic event.
Not everyone knows the information about the mission. Many Americans interviewed said they did not know about the flight, although NASA and the media emphasized the importance of the event.
Ms. Melinda Schuerfranz, 76, recalled the Apollo missions period when everyone watched television to follow scientific advances. She believes that the period was more vibrant due to widespread media coverage, along with competition in the "space race".
However, she and her husband still expressed excitement when they first directly witnessed a train launch. "We can't wait any longer," she said and said she would come early to watch the event.
