NASA's Artemis II: Humanity's Return to Deep Space Nears in 2026

• NASA's Artemis II mission, set for early 2026, will be the first crewed deep space flight in over 50 years, aiming to loop around the Moon without landing.
• The 10-day mission will carry four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (NASA), and Jeremy Hansen (Canadian).
• It serves as a critical test for the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) before future lunar landings, facing challenges like radiation and communication loss.
• The mission will collect extensive biological data on the crew to understand human response to deep space environments.
• Artemis II is a crucial steppingstone for the broader Artemis program, paving the way for Artemis III to land astronauts on the Moon's south pole.

Why It Matters: Artemis II marks a pivotal moment for human spaceflight, testing systems for humanity's return to the Moon.