NASA is leading the way to the Moon, but the military won't be far behind

Artemis II is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew includes Navy test pilots Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The Space Force will track the SLS rocket during the launch and handle public safety, including the ability to send a destruct signal if the rocket goes off course.

An Air Force rescue team will be on standby to rapidly retrieve astronauts in case of an in-flight abort; the Air Force has a long history of providing such rescue support.

The Navy will recover the Orion spacecraft and its four astronauts after the nine-day flight; the Navy also recovered Apollo astronauts more than 50 years ago.