2022
Test SLS rocket and Orion capsule
2026
First crewed flight
Flyby of the Moon
Scheduled for 2027
Test one or both landers in low Earth orbit
Scheduled for Early 2028
Land on the Moon
Conduct experiments
Scheduled for Late 2028
Land on the Moon
Conduct experiments
Begin construction of lunar base
To Be Determined
This cone-shaped capsule can seat up to four crew members and support missions up to 21 days. One major difference from Apollo: it uses solar arrays for power.
The rocket used to launch Artemis missions, it can be configured for the needs of a particular mission. This makes it more adaptable than the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo missions.
Current Mission
This 10-day mission will fly around the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed Artemis mission. It will test:
Commander
Since first travelling to space in 2014, Wiseman spent almost 13 hours spacewalking and conducted over 300 experiments. Before joining NASA, Wisemen spent 20 years as a naval aviator.
Pilot
This will be Glover’s second trip to space. He first travelled to the International Space Station on the first post-certification flight SpaceX’s crew dragon spacecraft.
Glover was a military pilot for the U.S. Navy.
Mission Specialist
This will be Koch’s second trip to space. On her first she spent nearly 11 months in space and conducted 6 spacewalks.
Before becoming an astronaut, Koch worked as an engineer for NASA among other places, and researched in the Antarctic and remote islands.
Mission Specialist
This will be Hansen’s first trip to space. Since becoming an astronaut, he’s worked in Mission Control and been a crewmember of NEEMO 19, living and working on the ocean floor for seven days to simulate deep-space exploration.
Much like Apollo 8, Artemis II is testing a spacecraft on a flight to the vicinity of the Moon in preparation for future missions.
One of the major differences between these missions is their flight path: Apollo 8 orbited the Moon whereas Artemis II is a flyby mission.
For its February 2026 launch window
From a Q&A video just for kids, to making an astronaut helmet, these activities will help young learners better understand all the work that goes into spaceflight.
Hear from the history makers that make Artemis II possible in these short (2-4 min) and long (30-60 min) videos.
