Frontier EdgeWednesday, April 1, 2026

NASA's Artemis II Prepares to Send Astronauts Around the Moon for First Time in 53 Years

Sourced from 8 publications

•Artemis II will be the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, carrying four astronauts around the moon without landing.
•The mission serves as a critical test of the Orion spacecraft's systems with humans aboard, laying groundwork for future lunar landings and Mars expeditions.
•Some scientists remain skeptical about the mission's research value, according to Nature, even as planned experiments are scheduled during the flyby.
•The flight has faced years of delays, and Ars Technica reports that earlier Orion launches lacked the momentum this mission now carries.
•Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is part of the crew, making the mission an international collaboration.

Sources

NASA narrows Artemis landing sites to 9 key regions - Phys.org

google

NASA narrows Artemis landing sites to 9 key regions

phys

'Moonshots' and merch - what it's like to be on Florida's Space Coast ahead of A...

BBC World

NASA is leading the way to the Moon, but the military won't be far behind

Ars Technica

NASA's Artemis II to Return to Moon in Bet on Agency's Future

Bloomberg

This is my third Orion launch, but it feels totally different

Ars Technica

Artemis II Countdown: How and When to Watch the Launch

Wired

Why won't NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts land on the moon when they get there?

space

How NASA plans to keep Artemis astronauts alive if disaster strikes - Los Angele...

google

Artemis II: The Canadian astronauts getting NASA back to the moon

Global News

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Curated from 8 sources. Every summary is reviewed for accuracy, but may still contain errors. We always link to original sources for verification.