NASA is preparing for a 10-day Artemis II mission scheduled for April 2026 that will send a four-person crew around the moon to prepare for future manned landings on its surface.
The space agency noted that the Artemis II mission will demonstrate a range of capabilities needed for deep space missions, including travel to the Moon and Mars.
The Artemis II crew includes Commander Reed Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
Hansen represents the Canadian Space Agency and will join three NASA astronauts to make the mission international.
The Artemis II mission will confirm that all of the spacecraft's systems and equipment function as designed to keep its four-person crew safe in deep space.
This mission will also create opportunities for long-term research and scientific work on the surface of the Moon.
The Space Launch System super-heavy rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew into space for a 10-day mission.
The European-developed Orion service module will allow it to leave Earth orbit and reach the Moon, using its engine to descend to its surface.
The mission will take the spacecraft and crew on a figure-eight route that extends more than 230,000 miles from Earth and 4,600 miles beyond the Moon.
It will take four days to pass around the Moon's orbit, and another four days to return to Earth.
The previous unmanned mission, Artemis I, launched in November 2022 and successfully entered lunar orbit.
It was NASA's first mission to the Moon since the space agency ended its Apollo program in December 1972.
NASA Artemis II Crew Discusses Moon Mission
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