NASA’s Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission in 50 Years Set for 2026

NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years, potentially as early as February 2026. The 10-day journey aboard the Orion spacecraft will see the crew orbit the Moon, studying areas never mapped by the Apollo missions.

The crew includes Reid Wiseman, a mission commander, Christina Koch (mission specialist), who will become the first woman to go to the Moon, Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist) and Victor Glover (pilot).

They will launch on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, following a “free-return” trajectory, flying over 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) beyond the Moon before returning to Earth without entering lunar orbit or landing.

The crewed spacecraft, named “Integrity”, symbolizes their goal of bringing peace and hope for all humankind. Astronauts will study the lunar surface in detail for approximately three hours during orbit.”

Artemis II is the second launch of NASA’s Artemis program. The uncrewed Artemis I mission in November 2022 successfully orbited the Moon and returned to Earth, though its heat shield experienced higher-than-expected burn during reentry, prompting delays to ensure astronaut safety.

Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA's acting deputy associate administrator said, “We together have a front-row seat to history. Safety is our top priority, but this mission is a major milestone in human space exploration.”