For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts are training for a lunar mission. As part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, a four-person crew will soon fly around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft. It’s scheduled to launch sometime between February and April 2026. The trip will last 10 days and cover 370,149 kilometers (230,000 miles)!
Mission to the Moon
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MISSION VEHICLE: The Orion spacecraft
NASA/FRANK MICHAUX
BOUND FOR THE MOON: The Artemis II crew (left to right): Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen
In 2022, NASA completed an uncrewed test flight of Orion, called Artemis I. If Artemis II goes well, the space agency plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface sometime in 2027. “I think of Artemis II as part of a relay race,” says astronaut Victor Glover, the mission’s pilot. “If we’re successful, we’ll pass the baton to future missions.”
Want to learn more about Victor Glover’s job as an astronaut? Click here to read a full interview!
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