NASA's Artemis II sends 4 astronauts on 10-day lunar flyby
Technology
NASA is gearing up to send four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon with Artemis II, launching from Kennedy Space Center.
This marks the first time humans will travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo (think of it as the next big step toward getting people back on the lunar surface).
Orion re-entry to test heat shield
The crew will kick things off by testing life support and propulsion systems in orbit.
Once everything checks out, their Orion capsule will swing around the moon along a free-return path, meaning if anything goes wrong, they naturally head back to Earth.
After some deep-space evaluations and a speedy re-entry at nearly 40250km/h, Orion aims for a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
The big goal? Proving Orion's heat shield can handle future moon missions.