NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first mission with astronauts aboard a new class of spacecraft, is poised to take flight. That puts the earliest possible launch date at March 6, 2024. Four NASA astronauts will make history on that journey. Such a mission would bring them farther into deep space than any other humans have ever journeyed. The full Artemis II crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — will be in attendance. They’ll have to overcome the same challenges humanity faces as we explore deep space together on the Orion spacecraft.
The next crewed Artemis mission is expected to last about ten days. Throughout this period, the crew will reside in an austere space of approximately nine cubic meters. For most of the journey, they will be trapped inside the Orion spacecraft. This environment will serve both as habitat and a lab. The astronauts will serve as medical test subjects, storing and transmitting vital data and images from the frontier of deep space.
The most important goal of Artemis II is to assess how the Orion spacecraft performs in orbit. This mission includes the first crewed flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. It employs the Orion multi-purpose space capsule to transport astronauts into deep space. As they venture into deep space, the astronauts will provide essential information on the spacecraft’s performance and its capabilities for future missions.
Once the crew comes back to Earth, they’ll have a pretty intense re-entry through the atmosphere. Their journey will conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of the United States. The flight home is difficult, but it’s very important. It evaluates the spacecraft’s systems and ensures astronaut safety for future crewed missions.
Even as we eagerly await Artemis II, the new era of global lunar exploration is already well underway. Meanwhile, China is working toward similar spacecraft of its own, with a destination near the Moon’s south pole targeted for 2030. Today, Russia has concrete proposals under discussion to land cosmonauts on the lunar surface. Their goal is to have a permanent presence on that new moon between 2030 and 2035. India plans for a crewed Moon landing by approximately 2040. This new goal is representative of an increasing global interest in exploring our moon.
NASA has outlined four additional launch opportunities in early March: March 7, 8, 9, and 11. There are five more launch windows available in the first week of April: April 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. These various avenues allow for options and flexibility as NASA continues to finalize preparations for this ambitious mission.