Artemis II is significant because it is the first crewed mission aboard the new Orion and the SLS rocket. It will send 4 astronauts into orbit around the Moon for 10 days: Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist. However, they will not land on the Moon during this mission. Still, the astronauts will be the first humans to be this close to the Moon, including the far side that faces away from Earth, since 1972. This mission will test the systems, like life-support, navigation, and communications, that are intended to support humans’ return to the lunar surface in the coming years.
“It’s amazing that our current generation of astronauts will make history with lots of firsts,” said Monica Marshall, Astronomer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. “Not only are we taking 4 astronauts around the Moon in a bigger and lighter vehicle—the Orion spacecraft, which Artemis II has named Integrity—for a longer time, but also Artemis II will have on board a superstar crew of the first African American, first woman, and first Canadian to journey to the moon!”