Artemis II: First Moon Mission Since Apollo 13 to Launch in 2024

By Caelan Webster, The Pawprint

Artemis II, the first moon mission since Apollo, is set to launch in 2024. Led by NASA, the crew of four will fly around the moon and back, a monumental step as the first manned moon mission in 50 years. The astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From there, they will embark on a 10-day journey, testing the equipment, circling the moon, and possibly traveling further into space than any human in history.

Although NASA’s Artemis II mission will be impressive, it is one step of many to reinvigorate space travel. Primarily, Artemis II hopes to pave the way for the Artemis III mission, set for later this decade. After Artemis II proves the technical capabilities of the craft, crew, and technology, Artemis III will land on the moon for the first time in decades. If this goal were to be a success, it would also be the first time that a woman and a person of color would have landed on the moon. These series of Artemis missions hope to eventually reach the next major step in human history – a manned mission to mars.