The Artemis II mission: What to expect

NASA is preparing to send humans back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. The Artemis II mission will send a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back to Earth. Here’s what to expect from the upcoming mission.

Possible launch windows

NASA has identified several potential launch dates for Artemis II, with the earliest currently targeted for March 2026 and additional opportunities stretching into April. Specific dates include March 6–9 and March 11, with backup opportunities on April 1, April 3-6, and April 30. 

The mission will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, using Launch Complex 39B — the same historic pad used for Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.

A possible February launch was delayed after the mission team encountered a liquid hydrogen leak during a “wet dress rehearsal,” a pre-launch test that includes fueling the rocket. 

The mission

Artemis II is a test flight, meaning that its primary objective is to demonstrate key systems that would be needed for a crewed mission to land on the Moon. These systems include the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion capsule, deep-space life support and environmental controls, the crew capsules’s heat shield, and communications capabilities, among others. 

The mission is expected to take about 10 days to complete, including these key milestones:

1. SLS launches and carries Orion into Earth orbit.
2. Orion orbits Earth twice to test systems 
3. The spacecraft heads toward the Moon
4. The crew travels around the Moon, getting as close as 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from the lunar surface
5. The spacecraft returns toward Earth
6. Orion re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, descends under parachutes, and splashes down in the Pacific Ocean

The crew 

Four astronauts have been selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA), pilot Victor Glover (NASA), mission specialist Christina Koch (NASA), and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency). 

Other Artemis missions

In 2022, the Artemis I mission sent the Orion spacecraft on the same trajectory around the Moon that Artemis II will take, but without a crew. It was a successful demonstration of SLS and Orion’s capabilities.

If Artemis II succeeds, the next mission will be Artemis III — the first crewed Moon landing mission since the Apollo era. NASA is aiming to conduct this roughly 30-day mission to land astronauts on the lunar south pole by 2028. Artemis III will use the SLS rocket to launch the Orion capsule to the Moon, similar to Artemis II. This time, the capsule will enter into lunar orbit. Once there, two of the crew’s four astronauts (not yet chosen) will descend to the lunar surface on another spacecraft, currently slated to be SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System. Once on the lunar surface, those two astronauts will spend about a week near the lunar south pole. They will explore the surface and perform science experiments before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth. 

What the Artemis II crew will do 

During the mission, the Artemis II crew will test Orion’s various capabilities in deep space. These include life-support and environmental systems, manual piloting and proximity operations, communications and navigation systems, and others. 

The crew will also collect data to contribute to studies of human physiology, sleep, motion, and other biological responses to space travel. For example, the AVATAR (A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response) project will use organ-on-a-chip devices to study the effects of increased radiation and microgravity on human health.

While in the vicinity of the Moon, the crew may make geological observations that could help scientists refine planning for the Artemis III mission. 

Why are we going back to the Moon?

Although humans have been to the Moon before, the total time we’ve spent there is only about 12 days. In such a short time, we have accomplished just a small fraction of the science that awaits us there. Although robotic missions have explored the Moon since the Apollo era, it’s still worth sending astronauts back. Humans can do science more quickly, flexibly, and intuitively than robots alone, especially when exploring complex terrain and selecting meaningful samples. The Moon also serves as a testing ground for technologies and skills that are needed for future deep-space missions, including eventual human trips to Mars.