Artemis II Overview

Not since 50 years ago has NASA sent an astronaut crew to the moon. However, in 2026, Artemis II is expected to fly four astronauts in an orbit of the moon, making this mission the farthest humans have been away from Earth. One overlying reason for this mission is to test the capabilities of Orion, the spacecraft that the astronauts will reside in throughout the estimated ten days of the mission. There are many factors they will have to account for, such as water recycling, piloting, communications, navigation, and more, to determine if Orion will be a good fit for future space missions. 

But who are the lucky four who get to go to the moon? Commander Reid Wiseman of NASA, pilot Victor Glover of NASA, mission specialist Christina Koch of NASA, and other mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. Artemis II will introduce the first woman, person of color, and Canadian to space beyond low Earth orbit. 

While the exact launch date is yet to be determined, there are six possible dates, mostly in March and April. As previously stated, Artemis II will not be landing on the moon like the infamous Apollo missions. The six Apollo missions were quite scattered, with each mission landing quite miscellaneously, collecting as much data as possible from wherever the astronauts landed. Instead, Artemis II is going to orbit the moon, slowly passing the south pole. Victor Glover will then use the moon’s gravity to push the spacecraft back to Earth. There is a surprisingly small amount of data to be collected on the moon itself during the orbit, though the crew may find some new geological information to aid in Artemis III’s mission. 

By now, you may be wondering why it has taken over 50 years for NASA to launch another mission to the moon. The answer to that question is quite layered, but it is mainly due to the fact that NASA is funded by taxes. There were six Apollo missions, all very close together (starting in 1969 and ending in 1972) because the Race for Space was extremely popular in the 1960s, and there were fewer tax restrictions against NASA. Although now, only a very slight percentage of a person's taxes is used to fund NASA, space missions are nevertheless extremely expensive. A decrease in funding for NASA means a decrease in space launches.

As with any mission, there are substantial worries regarding reaching escape velocity. Artemis II is going to check on Orion’s capabilities to travel through space, but the mission is also going to see how SLS, the rocket that will launch the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit, bodes with four astronauts attached to the end of it.

Overall, Artemis II is yet another record-breaking mission led by NASA that will determine our abilities for future space exploration.