The North Park Student Newspaper Since 2023
The biggest launch of 2026
GENERAL NEWS
Tobi Shen
6/11/20262 min read
You might have heard a few months ago that Artemis II has taken off, but what exactly is Artemis II? Artemis II is the first crewed flight in the 21st century that performed a lunar flyby to collect data and test systems around the moon. It is part of NASA’s Artemis program, whose goal is to get humans to the moon again, the previous time being Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew that partook in the Artemis II mission consisted of a fantastic group of 4: Reid Wiseman, from NASA, who was the crew’s Commander, Victor Glover, from NASA, who was the pilot, Christina Hammock Koch from NASA, who was a mission specialist, and Jeremy Hansen from CSA, who was another mission specialist. Artemis II launched to test and prove that the life support systems work, to test human interface in modern rockets and to reduce the risk for astronauts who would land on the moon in later attempts. The Artemis II mission happened on April 1st, 2026, lasting 10 days. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, traveled out of Low Earth Orbit to the moon, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
The reason the Artemis II launch was in the news is that it marks the first time humans have left Low Earth Orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. It also brought diversity with the crew consisting of a woman, a person of color, and a Canadian astronaut, when the previous crews of Apollo consisted of only white American men. Artemis II continues to bring inspiration to many people, especially those interested in STEM programs. The mission showed that the USA has reached deep space, and it could be the start of the modern space race.
The mission wasn’t without hiccups. Before the launch, one of the batteries spiked in temperature but was quickly fixed, and there was a communication issue with the rocket flight’s termination system, threatening to delay but was sorted out. Around 50 minutes into the flight, there was a temporary loss of communication before it was quickly resolved.
Artemis II was just another step in the expansion into space. The Artemis III is already underway, hoping to land humans on the moon to search for water in the next few years. Multiple international partners, including the ESA, the JAXA, the CSA, and the MBRSC, have come together to create the Lunar Gateway, which will be a space station to orbit the moon and serve as a place to rest for future crews. Additionally, this could be the start of getting the first human to land on Mars with constantly improving technologies.
In conclusion, Artemis II was a mission by NASA consisting of 4 crew members to scout the moon and reignite the passion to explore space with the eventual goal of landing a human on Mars.