Artemis II: Why NASA Astronauts Will Orbit Moon, Not Land, on Historic Mission

• Artemis II is designed as a test flight, not a lunar landing mission, focusing on deep space travel and crew safety.
• The Orion spacecraft, carrying the crew, is built for deep space and re-entry, lacking lunar landing capabilities.
• The mission prioritizes testing life-support systems, navigation, and propulsion with humans aboard for the first time.
• NASA employs a phased, step-by-step approach to risk, building and testing capabilities incrementally.
• Artemis II is a crucial step towards future lunar surface missions and eventually human exploration of Mars.