More than 50 years after the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972—the last time humans traveled to the Moon—NASA is preparing to send astronauts back into deep space.
The U.S. space agency plans to launch the Artemis II mission on February 6, marking the first crewed journey around the Moon in the Artemis program.
The four-member Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), and Christina Koch (mission specialist), along with Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). This will be the first time a Canadian astronaut travels to lunar orbit.
In preparation for the mission, NASA has moved the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“Artemis II will be a momentous step forward for human spaceflight,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the Moon—with America at the helm.”
He added that the mission represents progress toward establishing a sustained lunar presence and eventually sending humans to Mars.
The 10-day mission will play a critical role in preparing for Artemis III, currently scheduled for 2027, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole for the first time and establish a long-term human presence.
Under the Artemis campaign, NASA seeks to advance scientific discovery, create economic opportunities, and test technologies required for future crewed missions to Mars.
NASA completed Artemis I in August 2022, an uncrewed test flight that validated the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket. Artemis II will build on that success by testing these systems in real mission conditions with astronauts aboard. However, the spacecraft will not land on the Moon.
The mission will begin with a launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by an initial orbit around Earth to test life-support systems and other critical components. While still near Earth, the crew will assess systems responsible for generating breathable air.
Using the Moon’s gravity, the spacecraft will perform a trans-lunar injection burn, sending Orion on a four-day journey around the far side of the Moon in a figure-eight trajectory. At its farthest point, the mission will take astronauts more than 230,000 miles from Earth, following a free-return path that allows the spacecraft to return without additional engine burns.
The mission will conclude with a high-speed atmospheric reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
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NASA engineers will conduct a wet dress rehearsal in the coming days, testing fueling operations, countdown procedures, and the safe loading and draining of cryogenic propellants. These final preparations are expected to be completed by February 2, ahead of the historic crewed launch.
