Mission to Mars begins in waters off Texas

GALVESTON, Tex. — Years before they liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on a mission to deep space, NASA astronauts are busy training with their new space capsule.

They’ve been practicing water maneuvers in a mock-up Orion space capsule in the Gulf of Mexico, about 4 miles from Galveston, Texas.

An Orion spacecraft is being prepared at Johnson Space Center in nearby Houston. It is intended for flight with NASA's new SLS or Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket the agency says it has ever built.

The astronauts wore bright orange training uniforms as they trained for a possible water landing, jumping into the water, using flotation devices and deploying a life raft.

Coast Guard and other NASA and military safety personnel were positioned nearby.

The Associated Press contributed to this report