For the first time in more than half a century, astronauts are preparing to travel around the Moon. The four-person Artemis II crew–Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen–will ride aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity as early as February of 2026.
The 10-day mission will test Orion’s life-support systems and open the doors for Artemis III, which is expected to land humans on the lunar surface by 2027. Unlike Project Apollo, this program aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon that could eventually lead to life on Mars.
The astronauts emphasized that their mission carried a meaning larger than politics.
“Collaboration needs to be the ultimate goal if eight billion of us are going to have a bright future on this planet,” Hansen explained during a NASA news conference according to The New York Times. He reflected that when the crew rounds the far side of the Moon, they hope the world will pause and realize, “Wow, look at what we can do when we work together.”
Wiseman, the mission commander, emphasized readiness. He pointed out that Artemis II would only be able to move forward when both the vehicle and the team had proven themselves prepared.
“We’re going to launch when this vehicle is ready, when this team is ready, and we’re going to go execute this mission to the best of our abilities,” he explained. Although framed as a test flight, he added, “It’s going to be amazing.”
For Koch, who previously set the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, the mission represents a rare chance to view the Moon directly. According to BBC News, she stated that “human eyes are one of the best scientific instruments that we have,” noting that geologists were “beyond excited for our eyes to look at the Moon” and bring back insights into the search for life beyond Earth.
Glover, who will become the first Black astronaut to journey to the Moon, stressed the importance of staying grounded. His priority, he explained to Space.com, was making sure the crew would “live up to the standards that we owe the American and Canadian public and humanity in general.” That, he added, required focus and discipline.
The mission also marks a first for Hansen, a Canadian astronaut. Reflecting on the historic echoes of Apollo 8, he pointed out that the earlier mission inspired those living during turbulent times. “People were struggling in many different ways and I think we can all resonate with that today,” Hansen told BBC News.
NASA has revealed that the crew chose to name their spacecraft Integrity, a tribute to the coordinated efforts of many engineers, technicians, and astronauts across nations. Wiseman told The New York Times that once the name came up, “it was minutes, and we were done.”
Delays caused by Orion’s heat shield have pushed the timeline back, but NASA officials remain confident Artemis II will launch no later than April of 2026. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where flight controllers will command the mission and the crew trains, signs have already been put up to count down the weeks until the date.
If successful, Artemis II will bring back new discoveries about space, prepare the way for the first human return to the lunar surface in over half a century, and take the first steps toward reaching Mars. It will test how astronauts live and work in deep space and show that teamwork and international cooperation can make distant goals reachable.
