The countdown is on for NASA's Artemis II mission to the moon - and excitement about the launch is not only building in Florida, but across the tri-state area. Artemis II is NASA's first crewed mission toward the moon in more than 50 years - a 10-day flight looping around the moon and back. It’s expected to take place as early as next month. It will be overseen by the agency's newly appointed administrator, New Jersey native Jared Isaacman. News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum spoke to someone who has travelled to space to get a bit of perspective about the flight and its mission. "I was an astronaut for about 20 years," says Long Island native Jim Wetherbee. "I went to elementary school during the Mercury program. I was back in the fourth grade in Huntington," he says. Wetherbee has taken six space flights, commanded five space missions and was later in charge of NASA's entire astronaut corps. "I was responsible for crew selection - three different years of selecting astronauts. So it was really exciting times and here we are now getting ready to go back to the moon. It's really cool," he says.

Wetherbee says Artemis II is not about nostalgia. It's about learning how to work together in space.

"They will be traveling farther from the Earth than any other humans," he says. “The orbit is quite long...but the goal is to explore the solar system and to really populate…We might as well do it right…when it's time to save ourselves if there's a disaster on the planet."

It's also a topic of conversation during a recent lesson at a Westchester elementary school. "It's really exciting that they decided to go back," said one student. And it’s landing with space fans in New Jersey. "Everybody's watching it very carefully," says Paul Cirillo, of the New Jersey Astronomical Association. Cirillo says scores of space fans are planning to head to Florida to watch the launch in person.

If you are planning to be there in person, Tara Rosenblum wants to hear from you. Click here to get in contact with her.