Prepare for Launch: Here’s What We Know About NASA's Upcoming Artemis II Moon Mission

Buckle your seatbelts, as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared exciting news regarding the successor to the groundbreaking Artemis I mission. Indeed, NASA is preparing to send four astronauts to the moon as part of the Artemis II mission that is set to launch later this year.

If you have not yet heard about the Artemis II mission, prepare for the most exciting and happiest news of the week, as NASA is preparing to majestically travel once more through space.

Below, we report on the flight crew who have been assigned to this operation, as well as the captivating details of the Artemis II mission. NASA is preparing to make history once again, and luckily, we will be around to observe four lucky astronauts do so.

Continue reading below to learn all about the Artemis II moon mission and why NASA has made its followers giddy with excitement over its latest news.

According to NASA's Artemis II mission page, "Four astronauts will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The 10-day flight will help confirm systems and hardware needed for early human lunar exploration missions."

The 10-day mission is expected to launch no later than April 2026, and the mission type is being labeled as a "Crewed Lunar Flyby."

The Artemis II mission marks NASA's first-ever mission featuring crew members aboard the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.

As the NASA's Curious Universe podcast intro explains, "It’s a key test flight that will set the stage for future missions to land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there."

The Artemis II mission will be helmed by the following astronauts: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. The NASA website specifies that Hansen hails from the Canadian Space Agency.

The crew will take off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and spend about two days "[checking] out Orion’s systems and perform a targeting demonstration test relatively close to Earth before then beginning the trek toward the Moon."

The mechanisms by which the crew will reach high speeds during their trek through space are equally as fascinating as the history they will make on this mission.

"Orion’s European-built service module will give the spacecraft the big push needed to break free from Earth orbit set course for the Moon," according to the NASA website. "This trans-lunar injection burn will send the astronauts on an outbound trip of about four days, taking them around the far side of the Moon, where they will ultimately create a figure eight extending more than 230,000 miles from Earth."

At the conclusion of the Artemis II mission, the crew will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of San Diego.

At that point, a "recovery team" comprising NASA personnel and the Department of Defense will guide the crew back to land.