NASA's Artemis II lunar mission may fly a crew around the Moon

Artemis II is NASA's first crewed Moon flyby in over 50 years and will test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft with a four-person crew during an expected roughly 10-day mission.

NASA may launch the Artemis II lunar mission from Kennedy Space Center during an open window around the evening of April 1. It would be the first crewed Moon flyby in more than 50 years and the first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. A four-person crew from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will work with scientists on planned investigations and test ship systems. The mission is expected to last about 10 days. Key facts: - Mission role: first crewed Moon flyby in over 50 years and first crewed test flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. - Crew: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. - Duration: expected to last about 10 days. - Science objectives: test life support and study astronaut health, record lunar geology such as impact craters and ancient lava flows, and gather data to inform future crewed missions to the Moon and possibly Mars. - Flight profile and safety: Orion will fly beyond the far side of the Moon for about a three-hour period to analyze and photograph geologic features, while NASA's space weather teams will monitor solar flares and coronal mass ejections to provide warnings for crew protective measures if needed. Summary: If the mission launches in the open April 1 window, Artemis II would test crewed SLS/Orion operations and collect health and lunar science data to inform later missions. The flight could also extend human distance records by swinging several thousand miles beyond the Moon's far side before returning to Earth.