Astronauts going back to the Moon

Artemis II: Astronauts Heading Back To Moon

Good news: people are going back to lunar orbit. Artemis II is planned to fly humans around the Moon early in 2026 — possibly as soon as February. This will be the first time astronauts travel beyond low-Earth orbit in more than five decades.

The mission will use NASA’s Orion spacecraft. It won’t land. Instead, Orion will take a wide, sweeping path around the Moon. That trajectory suits Orion’s design and mass. The result: a long loop that gives the crew a sweeping view of the lunar surface and parts of the Moon few humans have ever seen.

Who’s on board? Four astronauts: Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) from NASA, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. They’ve been running simulations, training inside Orion, and preparing for the unique conditions of a deep-space trip.

Why this matters: Artemis II is a test flight with people on board. It’s not just about the photo ops. The crew will test life-support systems, communications, navigation, and operational procedures in a real deep-space environment. Those checks are key before later missions that will try landing and building a sustained presence on the Moon.

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