Artemis II: NASA's First Crewed Lunar Flyby in 50 Years
Meet the Artemis II crew and learn how NASA’s 10-day lunar flyby mission will test deep space systems and pave the way for future Moon landings.
www.nasa.govHere’s the latest on Artemis II based on recent reporting:
- Artemis II is a crewed lunar flyby mission aiming to send four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth, testing Orion’s life-support and other deep-space systems ([BBC coverage and NASA/ESA briefings]). NASA has repeatedly updated windows, with early 2026 being the target, though weather and technical issues caused delays and revised launch windows, including a shift to February or March 2026 in some reports ([BBC article], [Sky News summary], [NASA updates]).[1][5][6]
- The mission will use NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, with Europe’s European Service Module providing life-support and propulsion support, marking a critical step toward longer crewed deep-space missions ([ESA Artemis II profile], [NASA Artemis II overview]).[3][6]
- As of late January–April 2026, NASA has presented crew and mission objectives publicly, including a 10-day lunar flyby to validate systems before any subsequent Moon landings, with ongoing updates from NASA’s mission pages and live briefings ([NASA Artemis II page], [NASA news conference coverage], [NBC/NBC News coverage]).[4][6][9]
If you’d like, I can pull the very latest official launch window and crew updates in a quick bullet list, or compare Artemis II’s objectives with Artemis I and upcoming Artemis III milestones.