NASA to Send Astronauts Around Moon After 50 Years

NASA is preparing to launch its Artemis II mission in early March, sending four astronauts on a 10-day voyage around the Moon in the first human journey beyond Earth’s orbit in more than five decades.

Following a successful full-scale “wet dress rehearsal” at Kennedy Space Center, the agency has set March 6 as the earliest possible launch date. The test involved fueling and running a countdown for the 98-metre-tall Space Launch System rocket after earlier technical problems, including a hydrogen leak, were resolved.

The crew comprises three Americans — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch — along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, living and working inside the capsule throughout the mission.

The first day will be spent in Earth orbit before the spacecraft heads toward the Moon, circling its far side over four days. After conducting observations and photographing the lunar surface, the astronauts will return to Earth, with splashdown planned in the Pacific Ocean about four days later.

A successful mission would clear the path for Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface by 2028. The lunar lander is being developed by SpaceX, although the timeline faces pressure due to technical delays.

The renewed push toward the Moon comes amid growing global interest in lunar exploration, with China also targeting a crewed Moon landing by 2030.