{"id":15090127,"date":"2026-04-01T22:40:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/humanity-returns-to-the-moon-with-artemis-ii\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T22:48:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:48:17","slug":"humanity-returns-to-the-moon-with-artemis-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/humanity-returns-to-the-moon-with-artemis-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanity Returns to the Moon with Artemis II"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Research & Developments<\/span><\/strong><\/a> is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news that impacts science and scientists today<\/em><\/em>.<\/h4>\n

Today, four intrepid astronauts began a journey around the Moon and back. NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission<\/a> launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen <\/mark>on what will be a roughly 10-day trip around the Earth and Moon. It will be the closest that humanity has been to the Moon\u2019s surface in 54 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mission will bring together pieces of our earliest achievements in aviation, defining moments from human spaceflight, and symbols of where we\u2019re headed next,\u201d said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Artemis II is the first crewed flight in NASA\u2019s Artemis<\/a> campaign and is the latest step in the agency\u2019s plan to send humans back to the Moon\u2019s surface and eventually to Mars. The crew includes the first woman, the first Black person, and the first non-American to orbit the Moon.<\/mark><\/p>\n

There and Back Again<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Related<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u2022  Learn more about Artemis II<\/a><\/strong>
\u2022  The heat shield issue: NASA is about to send people to the moon \u2014 in a spacecraft not everyone thinks is safe to fly<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>
\u2022  A Step-By-Step Guide to the Flight Path<\/a><\/strong>
\u2022  Astronauts Are Going Back to the Moon For The First Time in Half a Century<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Artemis II launched aboard a Space Launch System<\/a> rocket carrying an Orion spacecraft<\/a> named Integrity. The Orion vehicle, supporting astronauts in space for the first time, will remain in a high-Earth orbit for a little more than a day as the crew tests the life support, navigation<\/a>, propulsion, communications, and monitoring systems to ensure that everything is performing as expected.<\/p>\n

After orbiting Earth twice, the crew will pilot the capsule toward the Moon. They will continue monitoring and testing Orion\u2019s onboard systems during the 4-day trip to the Moon\u2019s far side. The craft will travel roughly 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) beyond the far side of the Moon before beginning the return journey and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Day 10.<\/p>\n

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Artemis II will have several major mission milestones between launch and splashdown. It will orbit Earth twice before undertaking a 4-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

NASA originally planned to launch this mission in early February but delayed it after engineers detected a hydrogen leak during the fueling process for a wet dress rehearsal<\/a>. The rehearsal also revealed a loose valve and dropouts in audio communications. Later in February, the launch was delayed again<\/a> when data showed an interruption in helium flow to the rocket’s upper stage.<\/p>\n

These aren’t the first technical issues that has come up ahead of Artemis or SLS launches. The uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022 was also delayed due to a hydrogen leak. The flight also experienced an issue with Orion\u2019s heat shield<\/a>, but NASA concluded after a years-long investigation that a slight alteration to Orion\u2019s reentry vector would negate the problem and keep the astronauts safe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigators<\/a> discovered the root cause, which was the key\u201d to understanding and solving the heat shield issue, Reid Wiseman, commander for Artemis II, said in July 2025 at a press conference<\/a> after the investigation concluded. \u201cIf we stick to the new reentry path that NASA has planned, then this heat shield will be safe to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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(From left to right) Artemis II backup crewmembers NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons and prime crewmembers NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, pose for a picture with the SSL rocket Orion spacecraft secured to the mobile launcher as it makes the 4.2 mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on 17 January. Credit: NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/a>, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

NASA and other<\/a> space agencies<\/a> have stated their desire to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. U.S. officials have claimed that the United States is in a new space race<\/a> with China toward this end, though China has denied it\u2019s in a race at all.<\/p>\n

Artemis II is a crucial step toward NASA\u2019s eventual goal of once again landing humans on the Moon\u2019s surface, which it plans to do with the Artemis III<\/a> mission to the lunar South Pole region<\/a>. Artemis III is currently planned to launch in 2028, although cost uncertainties<\/a> and delays could push its launch back closer to China\u2019s planned crewed lunar mission in 2030.<\/p>\n

\u2014Kimberly M. S. Cartier (@astrokimcartier.bsky.social<\/a>), Staff Writer<\/p>\n

These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about science or scientists?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong> Send us a tip at eos@agu.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Text \u00a9 2026. AGU.\u00a0CC BY-NC-ND 3.0<\/a>
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.<\/h6>\n

Source: Science \u2013 eos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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