NASA is preparing its astronauts for the Artemis II mission using a sophisticated, high-fidelity simulator of the Orion spacecraft's cockpit. The simulator, located at Johnson Space Center in Houston, replicates the displays, controls, and environments the four-person crew will experience during their journey around the Moon.
The Artemis II mission, currently scheduled for launch no earlier than September 2025, will be the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket. It will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a approximately 10-day mission to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
Inside the simulator, astronauts practice operating the spacecraft's systems, responding to potential emergencies, and conducting key mission phases. This training is critical for the mission, which will test Orion's life support and communication systems with a crew aboard before future Artemis missions aim to land astronauts on the lunar surface.
