NASA's Artemis II mission to launch in early 2026
NASA is gearing up for its first crewed deep space mission since 1972, with Artemis II set to launch no earlier than February 5, 2026.
Four astronauts will travel around the Moon on a free-return trajectory on a 10-day trip—no landing yet, but it's a big step forward for lunar exploration.
Meet the crew for Artemis II
The crew features NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, plus Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
They'll ride aboard the Orion spacecraft atop NASA's massive Space Launch System rocket.
Right now, teams at Kennedy Space Center are finishing up assembly; expect to see the fully stacked rocket by October 2025.
Why Artemis II matters
Artemis II is basically a dress rehearsal for future Moon landings.
After learning from the 2022 uncrewed Artemis I (which helped NASA fix heat shield and fueling issues), this mission will test all those upgrades with real people on board—paving the way for Artemis III and an actual lunar landing later this decade.