Are you ready for a bona fide moon shot? The upcoming Artemis II mission is one of the most exciting space excursions in recent memory. It'll be the first time humans have flown to the moon since December 1972, when the landmark Apollo program wrapped up, and NASA began shifting focus toward the space shuttles that would stay closer to home in Earth orbit.
Artemis II is a chance for NASA to gather valuable new data from a spaceflight of this magnitude and to continue testing its new Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft that will carry the astronauts. The 10-day mission will be a flyby for those four humans -- an actual moon landing is planned for the follow-up Artemis III mission -- but there will be plenty of drama nonetheless.
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The launch is scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 8 and no later than Feb. 13. NASA has the rocket in place and is rigorously testing it to ensure it's ready for the journey. Orion is in its final preparation stages, and apart from some final tests, everything is ready to go. The mission is crewed by commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman, Glover and Koch are American. Hansen is Canadian and will be the first from his country to travel to the moon.
While we don't yet know the exact launch date, we do know what's going to happen. After liftoff, the Orion spacecraft will maneuver into orbit, head to the moon, slingshot around it, and return home as Earth's gravity pulls it back. This launch is now over eight years in the making, and the big moment is very close.
The Orion spacecraft needed some heat shield improvements, given the damage sustained during Artemis I. NASA
The Artemis II launch in February
On the launch date, Artemis II will lift off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Space Launch System, NASA's super heavy-lift rocket and the primary launch vehicle for the Artemis program, will produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch Orion and the crew into space.
In the initial minutes, the spacecraft will shed components such as rocket boosters and hardware used specifically for the launch phase.
Enlarge Image The flight path of Artemis II is a big loop around the moon. Artemis I took a similar route. NASA
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