NASA’s Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon – a space policy expert describes the long road to launch

Artemis II will test the life control systems on the Orion spacecraft and, if all goes well, take a trip around the Moon.

By: Scott Pace, George Washington University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 26, 2026

Words: 1,509

Last Updated: 4 months ago

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By Scott Pace, George Washington University

NASA is once again shooting for the Moon, for the first time since the 1970s. As soon as April 2026, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, using the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket to send a crewed spacecraft, called Orion, into orbit. From there, the crew will circle around the Moon over 10 days.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we …

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