If Artemis II runs to schedule it will launch in November, the Artemis II crew<\/a> consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA.<\/p> All of whom will be making their second spaceflights.<\/p> They will be joined by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, making his first flight.<\/p> Find out more about NASA’s Artemis programme<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> Artemis II follows the successful launch of Artemis I in November 2022<\/a>.<\/p> It will mark the first time a crew has flown aboard either the Space Launch System<\/a> (SLS) or the Orion crew capsule<\/a>.<\/p> Initially, the crew will conduct a 90-minute orbit of Earth, followed by a longer 42-hour orbit.<\/p> This will allow them time to test life-support systems through a full cycle of activity, exercise and rest.<\/p> The capsule will then set course for the Moon, along a free-return trajectory that will carry it in a figure-of-eight path around the Moon.<\/p> The capsule will travel out 7,400km beyond the Moon\u2019s far side<\/a>, the farthest distance a human has ever travelled around the back-side, far enough away that the crew will be able to see both the Moon and Earth together out of the capsule\u2019s window.<\/p> The crew will then return home, splashing down 10 days after the mission began.<\/p> If all goes well with this mission then Artemis III will be the first landing mission, due to touch down next year.<\/p> The goal with the Artemis programme is not merely to conduct \u2018flags and footprints\u2019 missions, but to establish a more meaningful and lasting presence on the Moon.<\/p> At the same time, NASA will be aiming to launch the first sections of a permanent space station orbiting the Moon, called Lunar Gateway<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> Once complete, future Artemis missions will be able to use this to conduct sojourns down to the lunar surface, establishing a much more long-term presence on the Moon.\u00a0<\/p> NASA isn\u2019t abandoning low-Earth orbit, however. In April Boeing plans on conducting the first crewed test flight of its Starliner<\/strong> spacecraft.<\/p> Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will pilot the craft, docking with the International Space Station for several days to test all systems are operational.<\/p> If all goes well, Starliner will enter into regular rotation ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.<\/p> The next few years will certainly be busy ones in the realm of human spaceflight.<\/p>Where the Artemis II mission will go <\/strong><\/h2>
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Looking ahead to Artemis III<\/strong><\/h2>
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