Imagine strapping into a capsule for a ten-day loop around the Moon.
No pit stops, no landing, just you, three crewmates and the black expanse of space.
That’s exactly what NASA is gearing up for as early as February, hoping to launch Artemis II months ahead of schedule.
It’s been over 50 years since humans ventured beyond low Earth orbit.
Artemis II will take four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
They will go farther than any crew has gone before.
“We’ve got a front row seat to history,” said NASA’s Lakiesha Hawkins. Safety, she added, “is our top priority.”
Moon Mission Almost Ready
The Space Launch System rocket is already stacked.
All that’s left is to finish Orion — their tiny nine-cubic-metre home — and run final tests.
Once launched, the spacecraft will orbit Earth, then fire off toward the Moon in a bold figure-eight trajectory.
It will fly 5,000 nautical miles beyond it before slingshotting back.
Inside, astronauts will rehearse docking maneuvers, monitor their health, and even send tissue samples back for lab analysis.
Think of it as a full-dress rehearsal for living and working off-world.
If all goes well, Artemis II paves the way for the first Moon landing in decades.
But as one space analyst quipped: in NASA timelines, “no earlier than” really means “wait and see.”
