NASA had been hoping to launch four astronauts on a voyage around the moon in the Artemis II mission in February, but technical issues with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket forced the space agency to delay the much-hyped endeavor.
All being well, the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft carrying NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, together with the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, will roar away from the Kennedy Space Center launchpad in Florida next month.
To keep space fans happy during the wait, NASA recently posted a trailer (top) for its documentary series that builds up to the epic voyage.
Moonbound, which you can watch for free on NASA’s website, follows the Artemis II astronauts as they prepare for the historic mission that will send humans toward the moon for the first time in more than five decades.
The astronauts won’t touch down on the moon, but they will come within about 4,000 to 6,000 miles of the lunar surface before flying around the far side and returning home. The entire mission from launch to landing will take about 10 days.
“We’re at the point now where we are ready to go fly,” Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover says in the trailer. Jeremy Hansen adds: “I’m driven by the spirit of exploration. There’s just something about pushing the limits that really captures my passion.”
The recently installed NASA chief Jared Isaacman described the upcoming Artemis II mission as “a momentous step forward for human spaceflight,” adding: “This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the moon … [the mission] represents progress toward establishing a lasting lunar presence and sending Americans to Mars.”
The target date for the highly anticipated lunar landing was recently shifted from 2027 to 2028 as part of the Artemis IV mission, while Artemis III will now function as a crewed test flight in low-Earth orbit.
Meanwhile, the Artemis II crew continues final training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston as NASA continues to work toward launch opportunities in 2026, with April as the current target.