NASA is preparing the Artemis II launch as the first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years, set for early April. There is a six-day launch window starting April 1. If the opportunity is missed, the mission will have to be postponed once again.
Since it was formally established in 2017, NASA’s Artemis program has been a bold initiative to return humanity to the moon and eventually prepare for Mars. At the center of this journey is Artemis II, which will carry four astronauts to our lunar neighbor.
Although the spacecraft won’t make a landing on the lunar surface, it will still come closer to the moon than any other crewed shuttle since Apollo 17 in 1972. In fact, this will be the furthest from the Earth that any human will have ventured for the past 53 years.
What will this mission entail? And are there other crewed missions planned after that? Click on to find out.