NASA hopes to launch historic Artemis II mission around the moon this week

NASA is targeting Wednesday for the launch of Artemis II, which will send a four-member crew on a nine-day journey around the moon before returning to Earth. The mission marks a critical step in NASA's effort to return humans to lunar exploration after a decades-long hiatus, building toward eventual crewed lunar landings. A successful Artemis II flight would validate the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft that form the backbone of the agency's deep-space architecture. The crew will orbit the moon without landing, testing life support systems and other critical hardware in actual lunar conditions. A splashdown off the San Diego coast is planned to conclude the mission.