The Artemis II astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, joining the rocket set to launch them on the first astronaut trip around the moon in more than half a century, NASA said. NASA is aiming for liftoff as early as April 1, with the launch window running through April 6.

Commander Reid Wiseman flew into Kennedy Space Center with his three crewmates from Houston, the closest they have come so far to launching, after fuel leaks and other rocket issues led to a two-month delay and required two hangar-to-pad rollouts. NASA has said it is still working toward an early-April launch, but Wiseman stressed there is no guarantee the mission will take off as scheduled, noting it could slip to May or even June.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman greeted the crew as they emerged from their T-38 training jets at the center. Besides Wiseman, the crew includes NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, and the welcome included the Canadian Space Agency’s president, Lisa Campbell, along with dozens of NASA managers and more than 100 journalists.

Wiseman told the crowd, “Hey, let’s go to the moon!” and said, “I think the nation and the world have been waiting a long time to do this again.” Hansen added, “We’re all fired up to go do this,” and said, “So ‘Allons-y!’ ” — French for let’s go.

NASA is targeting a launch as soon as Wednesday, giving the Space Launch System rocket six days in early April to lift off before NASA stands down for nearly a month. Wiseman said the schedule could change, and Glover said delays are part of the process, telling the group: “That’s this business,” adding that the flight will proceed when the engines light at T-zero.

The Orion capsule atop the rocket will carry the four astronauts on NASA’s first crewed moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. The 10-day flight will end with a Pacific splashdown, NASA said.

Earlier this week, Isaacman outlined a fresh plan for a moon base that NASA intends to build under the Artemis program. NASA has said the upcoming Artemis II mission will be followed in 2027 by a lunar lander demonstration in orbit around Earth and, in 2028, by one and possibly two lunar landings by astronauts.

Koch said the plan for what comes next has helped energize the team, describing the Artemis missions as a relay race and saying, “We’re in a relay race … and if nothing else this just fired us up for that all the more.”