NASA Targets February 2026 for Crewed Lunar Flyby

• Artemis II aims to send four astronauts around the Moon, marking the first crewed deep space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA has announced plans to launch its first crewed lunar mission in over five decades, targeting a ten-day round trip around the Moon as early as February 2026. The Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts beyond low Earth orbit to test systems critical for future lunar landings. Originally scheduled for no later than April, the agency now hopes to advance the timeline, pending final safety checks. Artemis II follows the successful uncrewed Artemis I flight in 2022, which validated core systems despite minor heatshield issues.

Mission Objectives and Flight Profile

The Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will travel aboard the Orion capsule atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). After liftoff, two solid rocket boosters will detach within minutes, followed by separation of the massive Core stage eight minutes later. Orion will then enter Earth orbit with help from the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System (ICPS), which performs a boost to higher orbit and initiates a 25-hour systems check. If all systems are nominal, Orion will detach from ICPS and conduct a Proximity Operations Demonstration to rehearse future docking maneuvers.

Twenty-three hours later, Orion’s service module will execute a Translunar Injection burn, sending the spacecraft on a four-day journey toward the Moon. The crew will travel at least 5,000 nautical miles beyond the lunar surface, farther than any previous human mission. Throughout the flight, astronauts will monitor spacecraft performance and conduct biomedical experiments. These tests will inform future missions aiming to land and operate on the Moon’s surface.

Scientific Research and Crew Health Monitoring

NASA scientists will study how spaceflight affects the human body by analyzing organoids—miniature tissue samples grown from the astronauts’ blood. Samples taken before and after the mission will be compared to assess the impact of microgravity and radiation. According to Dr. Nicky Fox, NASA’s head of science, organoids offer a non-invasive way to examine cellular changes without needing direct biopsies. This research could improve long-term health strategies for deep space exploration.

The astronauts will live inside Orion for the duration of the mission, relying on solar arrays for power and conducting regular system checks. After slingshotting past the Moon, the spacecraft will begin its return journey, using Earth’s gravity to guide re-entry. Upon arrival, the service module will separate, and the crew module will descend through the atmosphere before parachuting into the Pacific Ocean near California. The re-entry phase remains one of the most technically demanding parts of the mission.