The United States aims to launch its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years in February, two months ahead of schedule. This was confirmed on Tuesday by Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s acting deputy administrator, during a press conference on the Artemis 2 mission.
According to Hawkins, the first launch opportunity will be on February 5, more than five months away. Until now, the planned launch date was April of next year.
Artemis 2 aims to test several crucial systems, such as astronaut life support, which will be used on the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled to land on the Moon in 2027.
The program’s goal, said Hawkins, is to maintain a continuous human presence on the Moon. Part of this effort will be to test technologies developed in collaboration with private companies and international partners, including Europe, which could help carry the first astronauts to the next step: Mars.
Artemis 2 is the first crewed mission of the U.S. space program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon 50 years after the Apollo program. The U.S. also aims to achieve this before its main rival, China, which plans to send humans to the Moon by 2030.
There is a major difference between Artemis and Apollo. For the first time, the U.S. is going to the Moon in collaboration with other international partners, such as Europe and Canada, who contribute technology in exchange for seats for their astronauts.
After a first uncrewed flight of the Orion capsule in 2022, this second mission is designed as a test flight in lunar orbit to validate the Orion capsule, the SLS rocket, and the procedures needed for future lunar landings.
The Artemis 2 journey will last about 10 days and will carry four astronauts on a round-trip of more than 1.2 million miles. After completing two Earth orbits, the four crew members aboard Orion will head toward the Moon and orbit it once. From the hatches, they will be able to observe the surface of the Moon’s far side. Their closest approach to the satellite will be around 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers). NASA has simulated the views the astronauts will experience during their journey in a time-lapse video.
The crew selected for this lunar orbit consists of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The astronauts will be closely monitored for sleep, movement, biological samples, and the effects of the flight on their bodies.
Artemis 2 is also a trial for Europe and its space industry. The Orion service module, which provides air, water, electricity, propulsion, and temperature control, was built by European companies selected by the European Space Agency. If Artemis 2 succeeds, it will mark 54 years since NASA’s last crewed Moon mission, Apollo 17 in 1972.
NASA has already had to delay the Artemis 2 launch twice due to various technical problems. The first Moon landing in 50 years, as part of Artemis 3, will not occur before 2027 and may not take place until 2028 or even the 2030s, by which time Chinese astronauts may have already set foot on the Moon.
One of the main challenges is the Starship rocket, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Artemis 3 astronauts will travel to the Moon using the same rocket-and-capsule configuration as Artemis 2, but they will use the Starship to land on the surface.
The spacecraft successfully completed its first full flight without exploding at the end of August, after nine failed attempts. SpaceX still faces complex challenges, such as in-orbit refueling, which some former NASA officials and safety experts consider nearly impossible within the planned timeline.
NASA plans to send at least one more mission, Artemis 4, to the Moon to deploy a space station that will orbit the satellite. The purpose of this facility will be to support future landings and demonstrate the technologies necessary to send astronauts to Mars, potentially in the 2030s or later.
The arrival of Donald Trump in the White House this year has caused upheaval for NASA’s plans. The U.S. president aims to cut the agency’s science budget by half. Although he has shown more support for the crewed exploration program, his plan also sought to reduce key elements such as the future Gateway lunar station. In July, he had to reinstate the project in a political concession to Congress, where many Republican lawmakers oppose cuts to the space agency’s budget.
Outwardly, the Trump administration is boasting about future crewed missions. At an event held on Monday, NASA introduced its newest class of astronauts. For the first time in the agency’s history, there are more women than men among the 10 selected — six women and four men, respectively.
Also for the first time, one of the selected astronauts is already a space traveler. Anna Menon, a 39-year-old SpaceX engineer, is one of the two women who have traveled the farthest in space as part of the private Polaris Dawn mission launched in 2024.
One of these candidates “could actually be one of the first Americans to put their boots on the Mars surface, which is very, very cool,” said Sean Duffy, NASA acting administrator, during the event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz highlighted the significance of the group: “I am particularly proud of all the women here, and the fact that through Artemis, America is going to put the first woman on the surface of the Moon in the history of mankind.”
Artemis 3 is planned to take the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon’s surface. However, since Trump took office, references to this objective have disappeared from many official pages, and it remains unclear whether it is still a formal goal.
The Artemis program comes at a time of heightened interest in the Moon and its resources, including the large reserves of ice at the South Pole, where the Artemis 3 crew will land. This water will be crucial for sustaining inhabited colonies and producing rocket fuel capable of reaching Mars. Western powers are competing with China to explore and exploit these resources.
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