NASA’s Artemis II mission set to launch in the coming months will be a part of this paradigm shift, returning astronauts to the Moon and beyond. This robotic mission will be roughly ten days long. Its ultimate aim is to launch astronauts further into space than any human has gone before! The Artemis II mission will be NASA’s first crewed flight of its own Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. It includes aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is built to help lead the way toward future astronauts landing on the Moon.
The Artemis II crew will be performing several significant firsts during their mission. They’ll be testing how well the Orion spacecraft works in deep space. On top of that, they’ll get to be medical guinea pigs. The astronauts will send back valuable data and imagery from their journey, contributing to the understanding of human capabilities in space. This mission is essential for setting the foundation for a human landing on the lunar surface, which has not occurred since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.
NASA is preparing for a more permanent return to the Moon with longer, more complex Artemis missions. Now, they are opening the door to astronauts from more and more nations. It’s an encouraging sign that European astronauts will actively participate in the upcoming Artemis missions. At the same time, Japan has won seats on these exciting flights. Together, we seek to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. We hope to realize yet another landing when we send Artemis V in 2028—hopefully with a crew of four.
Beyond lunar landings, these Artemis missions will do much more to build our exploration and international collaboration capabilities. Future missions will include manually flying the Orion capsule in Earth orbit to practice steering and align the spacecraft for Moon landings. Look forward to many more Moon landings in the future! We’ll expand the upcoming Lunar Gateway with additional modules and deploy new robotic rovers to scan and analyze the lunar surface.
Illustration of NASA’s Artemis missions launched at just the right times. They smartly capitalize on the Moon’s advantageous position in its orbit, optimizing their chances for success. During the Artemis II mission, the crew will exist in roughly three meters cubed of space. From experimentation to data gathering, Black and her team will be testing and collecting information every step—and mile—of their journey. As they come back home to Earth, they are going to experience a very harsh re-entry through the atmosphere. Finally, they’ll do an in-ocean splashdown off the west coast of the United States in the Pacific Ocean.