NASA's Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon: The long road to launch

NASA is once again shooting for the moon, for the first time since the 1970s. As soon as April 2026, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, using the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket to send a crewed spacecraft, called Orion, into orbit. From there, the crew will circle around the moon over 10 days.