NASA's next moon astronauts underscored the importance of their upcoming Artemis 2 mission despite a turbulent time for the space agency full of budget cuts and workforce reductions.

NASA's Artemis II crew including Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman were on hand to discuss their upcoming moon mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday.

It could be less than nine months before humanity ventures back to the moon, even if only to fly around it. The people set to make that flight were back on the Space Coast on July 30 to log time with their ride,