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| The Artemis 2 Orion crew and service modules sit inside the Operations & Checkoput Building during a NASA media day event at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, March 7, 2025. Reuters |
NASA’s Artemis II Mission: U.S. Astronauts Set to Orbit Moon as Early as April 2026
The Artemis 2 Orion crew and service modules sit inside the Operations & Checkoput Building during a NASA media day event at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, March 7, 2025. ReutersNasa officials on Tuesday said the agency's first crewed flight in its Artemis...
NASA’s next major leap in lunar exploration, Artemis II, is on track to launch in April 2026, sending a team of astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back to Earth.
Officials say there’s a possibility of advancing the launch to February 2026, provided safety checks and hardware readiness allow.
Unlike missions that aim to land, Artemis II is a crewed lunar flyby test flight — the first human mission beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The mission will use NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.
The four astronauts selected are:
- Reid Wiseman as mission commander
- Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen (from the Canadian Space Agency) completing the crew
Their flight path will carry them around the Moon before returning to Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown — without touching lunar soil.
The success of this mission is critical to validating systems, crew safety, and mission protocols ahead of Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon in 2027.
NASA stresses that while April is the target, safety remains the priority — any change in launch timing must be backed by technical readiness and rigorous testing.
FAQs
Q: What is Artemis II?
A: Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby mission under the Artemis program. Astronauts will orbit the Moon and return to Earth over about 10 days.
Q: When is the launch scheduled?
A: The mission is planned for April 2026, with the possibility of an earlier launch in February 2026, depending on preparations.
Q: Who are the astronauts onboard?
A: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Q: Will this mission land on the Moon?
A: No — Artemis II will not land. It’s a flyby mission to test systems and readiness for future missions.
Q: What’s next after Artemis II?
A: Artemis III aims to be the first American crewed lunar landing in this new program, currently targeted for mid-2027.