UTEP hosting Artemis II launch watch party

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Students and faculty from the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences in the College of Science at UTEP gathered together to watch the launch of the Artemis II mission. It is the first manned mission to the moon in more than 50 years.

There's a special reason why UTEP is so invested. Jose Hurtado, a UTEP professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, has been supporting Artemis II by assisting with mission simulations at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

He'll provide real-time assistance to the mission from NASA's Science Evaluation Room. He will be present at Johnson Space Center for the launch and for the duration of the mission.

ABC-7 spoke with his students and fellow faculty members about the mission and they all felt proud to see him succeed.

"We wouldn't be here without Dr. Hurtado," said Randall Walker, a Ph. D student at UTEP. "He loves what he's doing, he teaches us to love planetary science, and he looks out for all the students that have the same interests as him."

Dr. Hurtado video called in after the launch and spoke to the room for a couple of minutes. He said the launch went well and hopes he can continue to keep the class informed about what's going on.

"That was a beautiful launch. I hope you guys saw it as well as we did here. It was fantastic. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room here," said Dr. Hurtado.

ABC-7 will continue to keep you updated on Dr. Hurtado and his progress with the Artemis II mission.