ARTEMIS II: THE FIRST CREW AROUND THE MOON IN OVER 50 YEARS
No human being has traveled to the Moon's neighborhood since Apollo 17 in December 1972. Artemis II ends that half-century wait.
THE MISSION PROFILE
Artemis II sends a crew of four around the far side of the Moon on a free-return trajectory — a roughly ten-day flight that proves Orion's life support, communications, and deep-space operations with humans aboard.
No landing. That comes next. This flight is about certifying the ride.
THE CREW OF FOUR
The Artemis II crew includes the first woman and the first non-American ever assigned to a lunar mission — a visible statement that this program's Moon looks different from the last one's.
WHAT IT SETS UP
Every objective on Artemis II clears the runway for Artemis III: the return of astronauts to the lunar surface, targeted at the south pole.
Apollo 8 played this exact role in 1968 — the crewed shakedown flight that made the landing possible. History is rhyming on purpose.
FIFTY YEARS IS LONG ENOUGH. THE MOON IS ABOUT TO HAVE VISITORS AGAIN.
