Everything to know about Artemis II - the NASA mission to send ...
The space agency's Artemis II mission will take the crew further than humans have ever ventured in space before. Here is everything you need to know.
news.sky.comHere’s the latest on Artemis II based on recent reporting:
- Artemis II is a crewed lunar flyby mission aiming to send four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth, testing Orion’s life-support and other deep-space systems ([BBC coverage and NASA/ESA briefings]). NASA has repeatedly updated windows, with early 2026 being the target, though weather and technical issues caused delays and revised launch windows, including a shift to February or March 2026 in some reports ([BBC article], [Sky News summary], [NASA updates]).[1][5][6]
- The mission will use NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, with Europe’s European Service Module providing life-support and propulsion support, marking a critical step toward longer crewed deep-space missions ([ESA Artemis II profile], [NASA Artemis II overview]).[3][6]
- As of late January–April 2026, NASA has presented crew and mission objectives publicly, including a 10-day lunar flyby to validate systems before any subsequent Moon landings, with ongoing updates from NASA’s mission pages and live briefings ([NASA Artemis II page], [NASA news conference coverage], [NBC/NBC News coverage]).[4][6][9]
If you’d like, I can pull the very latest official launch window and crew updates in a quick bullet list, or compare Artemis II’s objectives with Artemis I and upcoming Artemis III milestones.