What is the NASA Artemis II mission?

A: Artemis II is the archetypal crewed ngo of NASA’s Artemis programme. It volition beryllium the archetypal clip humans volition question to the vicinity of the satellite since 1972. The 10-day formation volition trial the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft to guarantee each life-support and navigation systems are harmless for aboriginal lunar missions.

On January 9, NASA said the ngo was successful its last mentation stages. The earliest targeted motorboat day is February 6, 2026. NASA has besides identified motorboat windows crossed February, March, and April 2026. The rocket stack is expected to beryllium rolled retired to Launch Pad 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Centre successful mid-January for the last tests.

Artemis II has a four-person crew. The commandant is Reid Wiseman; the pilot, Victor Glover; and Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are the ngo specialists. Mr. Hansen is from the Canadian Space Agency, the remainder are from NASA.

Rather than onshore connected the moon, the unit volition alert successful a hybrid free-return trajectory. Specifically, aft liftoff onboard the SLS, the Orion spacecraft volition orbit the world doubly to cheque beingness enactment and manual handling capabilities. Then, it volition question astir 10,300 km beyond the acold broadside of the moon, aft which gravity volition propulsion the spacecraft backmost towards the world for a splashdown successful the Pacific Ocean.

This ngo is simply a captious trial flight. If it is successful, NASA volition greenlight Artemis III, which aims to onshore astronauts connected the lunar South Pole.