Artemis II: NASA's First Crewed Return to the Moon

Half a century after Apollo 17 left the last human bootprints in lunar dust, Artemis II is preparing to carry four astronauts around the Moon. It will be the first crewed flight of NASA's Artemis program — and a full dress rehearsal for the landing that follows.

What Artemis II will do

The mission is a free-return trip: the Orion spacecraft loops behind the Moon and uses lunar gravity to slingshot home, never entering orbit. It validates every crewed system before Artemis III attempts a south-pole landing.

• Launch aboard the Space Launch System (SLS)
• A roughly 10-day flight around the Moon and back
• First crew to leave low-Earth orbit since 1972

Readiness checklist

• Orion crew module integrated
• SLS core stage stacked
• Crewed launch — targeted for 2026

The crew

We are going back to the Moon — and this time, to stay. NASA Administrator

How the trajectory works

The circular-orbit velocity scales with the gravitational parameter GM and orbital radius r:

v = √(GM / r)

Engineers write the escape condition as E = ½mv² − GMm/r ≥ 0, with the reference altitude denoted r₀.

def specific_energy(v, r, GM):
    # positive energy => escape trajectory
    return 0.5 * v**2 - GM / r

Timeline

1. 1972Apollo 17 — the last crewed lunar mission
2. 2022Artemis I — uncrewed Orion flight around the Moon
3. 2026Artemis II — first crewed Artemis flight
4. 2027+Artemis III — crewed south-pole landing

Common questions

Will Artemis II land on the Moon?

No. Artemis II is a crewed fly-by; the landing is Artemis III.

Who are NASA's international partners?

The Canadian Space Agency provides an astronaut and robotics; ESA builds Orion's service module.

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