Artemis II Will Land on the Moon: All the Details About NASA’s Historic Mission
Are you ready for a bona fide moonshot? The upcoming Artemis II mission is one of the most exciting space missions in recent memory. It will be the first time that people have flown to the moon since December 1972, when the land mark. The Apollo program wrapped up, too NASA began to shift focus towards space probes that will stay close to home in Earth orbit.
Artemis II is NASA’s opportunity to collect important new data from a spacecraft of this size and continue testing its new Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts. The 10-day mission will be a fly-by-night for those four — the actual moon landing is planned for the Artemis III follow-up mission — but there will be plenty of drama nonetheless.
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The launch is scheduled to take place before Feb. 8 and before Feb. 13. NASA has the rocket in place and is rigorously testing it to make sure it is ready for the journey. Orion is in its final stages of preparation, and apart from some final tests, everything is ready. The mission is run by commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission technicians Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman, Glover and Koch are Americans. Hansen is from Canada and will be the first from his country to go to the moon.
Although we don’t know the exact launch date yet, we do know what will happen. After liftoff, the Orion spacecraft will enter orbit, travel to the moon, shoot a slingshot around it, and return home as Earth’s gravity pulls it back. This launch is now eight years in the making, and the big moment is just around the corner.
The Orion spacecraft needed a heat shield upgrade, given the damage sustained during Artemis I.
Artemis II was launched in February
On launch day, Artemis II will lift off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Space Launch System, NASA’s large-lift rocket and the first launch vehicle for the Artemis program, will generate more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch Orion and the crew into space.
In the first few minutes, the spacecraft will eject components such as rocket boosters and hardware used for the launch stage.
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Artemis II’s flight path is a large loop around the moon. Artemis I took the same approach.
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The earliest possible launch date (PDF) for Artemis II is Feb. 8, and the launch window lasts until Feb. 13. In case Artemis II missed this launch window, the next ones are March 6-11, April 1-6 and April 30. The time of day varies, but NASA intends to go up in the evening, so prepare to watch or after dinner.
NASA broadcasts the launch to its regular bases. It includes its YouTube channel, its free on-demand streaming program NASA Plus, and the agency’s social media pages on Facebook and X. It should also be streamed live on Twitch, and with the partnership NASA signed with Netflix in 2025, it will likely be streamed live on Netflix as well.
What will happen first
About eight minutes after launch, the spacecraft will separate from the lower stage, leaving only the Orion capsule and the upper stage rocket, while the maneuverable lower stage will spread out into the Atlantic Ocean and sink to the ground.
In the next few hours, the spacecraft will reach its orbit around the Earth, in an orbital pattern that makes it easier for the astronauts to return home if something goes wrong. (The Artemis I mission successfully flew in 2022, but did not operate.) It will remain there until the second mission day.
Days 1-2: Test programs
Once in high orbit, the crew will operate manual controls and begin testing the ship’s systems, including life support and communications. Once everything is OK, the upper stage rocket will perform what is known as a translunar injection burn before pulling back, sending Orion hurtling toward the moon.
Day 3-5: Travel time
The crew will have a few days to travel to the moon, a distance of more than 225,000 miles. (About the same amount of time as driving non-stop from New York City to Los Angeles, a trip of less than 3,000 miles.) By comparison, the International Space Station is only about 250 miles from Earth. During this time, employees will be busy conducting tests, practicing procedures, and testing equipment technology.
Day 6: The dark side of the moon
The Artemis II crew reaches lunar orbit on Day 6, flying around the far side of the moon and preparing for their return trip. It will be a rare human look at the dark side of the moon, and, depending on which day the mission launches, the Artemis II crew may also break the record for the longest human journey away from Earth when they reach the farthest point of their loop around the moon. That record — 248,655 miles — was set during the Apollo 13 mission.
The crew is expected to lose contact with Earth during this time. They will photograph the far side of the moon before re-establishing contact and heading home.
Day 7-9: Return home
Orion will glide to the moon and begin its journey home under the influence of Earth and the moon’s gravity.
Day 10: Splashdown
The final day of the mission will see Orion and its crew return to Earth. Orion will enter orbit at high speeds, generating heat of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This will completely test those improvements that NASA has made to Orion’s thermal velocities. Once re-entry into space is complete, the crew will deploy Orion’s parachutes and fall into the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy will pick them up about two hours later.
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Artemis III will send men to the surface of the moon.
Artemis III: The planned moon landing
The Artemis II mission is a key building block in the sequence of events that will return humans to the surface of the moon. Data collected and tests performed on the mission will be used to prepare the Artemis III mission, which will be the first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
SpaceX is developing a system that crews will use to land on the moon, and Houston-based company Axiom Space is developing spacesuits for them to wear.
Artemis III is scheduled to launch in mid-2027.
