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Artemis II Nears Launch as NASA Prepares to Send Humans Around the Moon
This week, anticipation continues to build as NASA engages in final preparations for the launch of its Artemis II mission, which will send the first crew of astronauts around the Moon in more than half a century.
Propelling humans farther than any have ever previously traveled from Earth, Artemis will carry four astronauts—Commander Reid Wiseman, a former Naval aviator and Chief of the Astronaut Office; Pilot Victor Glover, also a former Naval aviator who previously served as a pilot on the SpaceX Crew-1 mission; Mission Specialist Christina Koch, who currently holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman; and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut—on their historic mission by as soon as early February, if all goes according to plan.
An Ambitious Trip Around the Moon
With a target launch no earlier than February 6, 2026, potential launch windows for the forthcoming Artemis mission extend through April of this year. Once in orbit, the mission will include a range of systems tests that will likely play a crucial role in preparation for future lunar missions.
Earlier this week, NASA announced that its teams at Kennedy Space Center in Florida remain hard at work with preparations for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, as well as the Orion spacecraft, and additional support for ground infrastructure and other readiness protocols in advance of the forthcoming Artemis II test flight, with a simulated launch expected to take place no sooner than January 31.
Currently, NASA officials have said that their engineering teams on-site are either on track or slightly ahead of schedule, in advance of the approaching wet dress rehearsal. MORE
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