Artemis II
Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission under the Artemis program, aimed at returning humans to the Moon and establishing a sustainable lunar presence. Scheduled for no earlier than April 2026, Artemis II will carry four astronauts—Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (CSA mission specialist)—on a roughly 10-day journey that will take them around the Moon and back, without landing.
Following the successful uncrewed Artemis I mission, this mission will serve as a critical test flight for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft with humans aboard. The crew will evaluate life support, communication, and propulsion systems in deep space conditions, setting the stage for Artemis III, which will attempt a crewed lunar landing.
Artemis II will mark the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. It represents a pivotal step toward NASA’s goals of lunar exploration, scientific discovery, and, eventually, Mars missions.