NASA Artemis moon mission could launch from Florida in 1 month. What to know

NASA Artemis moon mission could launch from Florida in 1 month. What to know

Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

Tue, January 6, 2026 at 6:21 PM UTC

5 min read

Four astronauts are on the verge of becoming the first humans to venture near the moon in more than half a century since NASA's iconic Apollo era came to an end.

As early as February, the crew of a mission known as Artemis 2 will board the U.S. space agency's Orion capsule atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket in Florida for a 10-day trip circumnavigating the moon.

The mission doesn't include plans for a moon landing – yet. Instead, the four astronauts will venture on a cosmic journey that will lay the groundwork for future astronauts to step foot on the lunar surface in the years ahead.

Why does NASA have a renewed interest in the moon decades since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to reach its surface? It's all part of a larger plan to reach Mars by establishing a permanent human lunar presence.

Here's everything to know about Artemis 2, and how the mission fits in with NASA's larger goals for space exploration.

Spaceflight in 2026: How Florida's Space Coast will have a central role in crucial launches

What are NASA's Artemis missions?

NASA's Artemis program is the agency's ambitious campaign to return Americans to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

In the years ahead, NASA's Artemis campaign aims to launch a series of crewed missions to establish a continuous human presence on the moon with a lunar settlement on the south pole. That's where water ice thought to be abundant in the region could be extracted and used for drinking, breathing and as a source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.

Why does NASA want to go to the moon?

Ultimately, Artemis reflects NASA's moon-to-Mars approach to getting the first humans to the Red Planet.

The lunar settlement – which includes plans for a nuclear reactor – would serve as a base of operations to make further crewed space missions, including trips to Mars, possible.

When was the last time Americans landed on the moon?

The last U.S. astronaut to land on the moon was on Dec. 19, 1972, during NASA's Apollo 17 mission. All told, NASA astronauts have been to the moon on six separate Apollo missions, beginning with Apollo 11 in 1969.

What is Artemis 2? Orion capsule to take 4 astronauts around moon

The astronauts of Artemis II (from left) Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch leave crew quarters December 20, 2025 during their pre-launch rehearsal. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

The crew of Artemis 2 are due to circle the moon on a 10-day trip.

The Orion capsule the crew will pilot – built by Lockheed Martin – is due to travel about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon before returning to Earth. From that vantage, the astronauts should be able to see Earth and the moon from the capsule's windows – with our planet nearly a quarter-million miles away, according to NASA.

The planned trajectory for the four-day return journey will use Earth's gravity to naturally pull Orion back home after flying by the moon, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.

When will Artemis 2 launch?

NASA's Artemis 2 mission could get off the ground as early as Feb. 6 and no later than April.

The mission would come more than three years after Artemis 1 launched Nov. 16, 2022, from the Kennedy Space Center, sending the Orion capsule on a moon orbiting mission without a crew in the first test of the vehicle.

Who are the Artemis 2 astronauts?

Here's a look at the four-member crew of Artemis 2:

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native and the mission's commander who last flew to space in 2014 on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot from Pomona, California, who flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who holds several space agency records and who flew in 2019 on a Soyuz ISS mission.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.

Koch and Glover represent the first woman and first African American, respectively, assigned to a NASA lunar mission. Additionally, Hansen is set to become the first Canadian to fly close to the moon, according to Reuters.

When would a moon landing happen?

While no moon landing is in store for the Artemis 2 astronauts, the mission serves a vital role in testing the systems and hardware on the spacecraft needed for future expeditions to the lunar surface.

The first of those could happen no earlier than 2027 with the much more ambitious Artemis 3 mission, which will return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

Where will the Artemis missions launch in Florida?

Both the Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 missions will get off the ground from NASA's Kennedy Space Center along Florida's Space Coast near Cape Canaveral. The astronauts themselves will be aboard an Orion capsule at Launch Complex 39B that will hitch a ride out of Earth's atmosphere atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket, built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman.

Artemis 2 will be the first time that the giant, 322-foot-tall SLS rocket and the Orion capsule will fly with humans aboard.

Contributing: Brooke Edwards, FLORIDA TODAY; Reuters

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA's pivotal human moon mission could launch in Florida in February

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