The
Artemis I mission, launched in 2022, involved sending an uncrewed Orion
spacecraft into orbit around the Moon and bringing it back to Earth.
Artemis II will be a crewed mission, launching four astronauts into a
free-return orbit around the Moon and back to Earth, the first time
humans will have been in lunar orbit since 1972. The mission had been
delayed until September 2026 due to technical problems, but has now been
brought forward to April of next year or possibly earlier. NASA's Orion
spacecraft comprising of a command and service module sits on top of
the unimaginatively-named Space Launch System (SLS), the equivalent of
the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program. The 8.4 m (27.6 ft)
diameter, 98 m (322 ft) tall SLS is a two-and-a-half-stage rocket,
powered by engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, assisted
by two solid rocket boosters.
Artemis II crew. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
