Go to the Moon and back in 10 days: the countdown and all the details of the mission

The first crewed mission to the Moon in more than half a century begins its countdown with maximum anticipation. If all goes as planned, NASA will launch the rocket – with three astronauts from the United States and one from Canada on board – on Wednesday, April 1st (in Catalonia, it will already be Thursday in the early morning). The Orion spacecraft will only orbit the Moon and return without landing, with the aim of testing the capsule where the crew will travel and preparing NASA for its next lunar landing in subsequent incursions. The Artemis II mission marks the return of humans to the Moon after the Apollo 17 mission (the sixth mission and last moon landing) in 1972. This is everything you need to know about this extraordinary mission and the astronauts making the journey.

Artemis II, a milestone after more than half a century

The Artemis II mission consists of taking four astronauts on a 10-day mission to go to the Moon, without landing on it, and then return to Earth. For NASA, it is an important test for the spacecraft, not only because it comes more than 50 years after the last mission, but because it will be a preliminary step to attempting to land astronauts on the Moon in the near future.

When is the launch scheduled?

If there are no incidents, the launch is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 1 (at 00:24 AM from Wednesday to Thursday midnight, Catalan time). Initially, the launch was scheduled for February, but due to a fuel leak during preliminary test trials, it was postponed until Friday, March 6 (Saturday 7, Catalonia time). On March 7, however, new incidents led to the cancellation of the launch. Now, finally, it seems that it may be the definitive date.

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Who are the crew members and how have they prepared?

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. These are the four crew members who were selected in 2023 for the mission and have since been training for their trip to the Moon. Wiseman, the commander; Glove, the pilot; and Koch, the mission specialist, are three American NASA astronauts who have been to the International Space Station. Hansen, the latest member of the spacecraft, is a mission specialist from Canada who has never been to space and will be the first person who is not a NASA astronaut to make a lunar trip. Christina Koch will become the first woman to travel around the Moon, and Victor Glover, the first Black man.

“We always say we are not doing this for the superlatives,” said Reid Wiseman, the mission commander, this Sunday during a press conference prior to Wednesday's launch. Rather, Artemis II is “for everyone, and by everyone,” he said. “This is what NASA embodies.” Christina Koch, for her part, added that they have “the firm hope that this mission will be the beginning of an era in which everyone can look at the Moon and also think of it as a destination.”

Orion, the spacecraft for the trip to the Moon

Orion is the two-section spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the Moon and back to Earth. During the 10-day mission, astronauts will remain inside the crew module, located at the top. Below is the service module, a cylindrical piece provided by the European Space Agency that houses propulsion, power, and life support systems.

The crew module will return to Earth and land in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego. This capsule, built by Lockheed Martin and nicknamed Integrity by the crew, can accommodate four astronauts for missions of up to 21 days.

The objective of the Artemis II mission

The Artemis II mission aims to test Orion's life support systems and other critical systems, those essential subsystems that ensure the crew's survival, the spacecraft's integrity, and the mission's success. After separating from the launch rocket, the crew plans to test Orion's ability to perform docking maneuvers for future flights.

Once the spacecraft heads towards the Moon, it will follow what is known as a "free return" trajectory: the Moon's gravity will cause the capsule to travel directly towards Earth without the need to ignite the engines. Therefore, even if there were a propulsion system failure, the Orion capsule could return to Earth.

When the astronauts fly over the far side of the Moon, they will make observations of the lunar surface, including parts never before seen by human eyes. However, the Artemis missions aim to explore the Moon to make scientific discoveries and extract resources such as frozen water for future space missions.