NASA's Artemis II mission, currently scheduled for launch no earlier than September 2025, will be the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four-person crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—will not land but will perform a lunar flyby to test the Orion spacecraft's life support and other systems critical for future surface missions.
The broader Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface, targeting a landing with Artemis III. A key scientific motivation is the exploration of water ice confirmed to exist in permanently shadowed regions at the Moon's poles. This resource is vital for sustaining a long-term human presence and could support future deep space exploration.
International competition is a factor, with China also planning crewed lunar landings by 2030. However, NASA emphasizes that Artemis is a global effort involving international and commercial partners, focused on establishing a sustainable and strategic presence on the Moon and preparing for future missions to Mars.
