Artemis II vs. Apollo: Why this mission loops the moon but doesn't land

More than fractional a period aft NASA’s last Apollo mission, astronauts connected Wednesday are preparing to instrumentality to the satellite — but this time, they volition not land.

Instead, 4 unit members aboard Artemis II volition alert past the satellite connected a 10-day mission, traveling farther into abstraction than immoderate humans since the Apollo era.

The ngo is designed arsenic a crewed lunar flyby, a captious trial of NASA’s deep-space systems earlier attempting aboriginal landings, according to NASA.

Launched aboard the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft volition archetypal participate Earth's orbit earlier pursuing a precise way known arsenic a "free-return" trajectory.

The NASA Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building moving dilatory to pad 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Center successful Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 20, 2026. (Terry Renna/AP Photo)

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Scientists said the way uses the combined gravitational forces of Earth and the satellite to transportation the spacecraft astir the acold broadside of the satellite and safely backmost location without requiring large people corrections.

Artemis II volition people the archetypal clip astronauts alert aboard some the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket, making it a cardinal objection of NASA’s quality deep-space capabilities.

The ngo volition trial however good the spacecraft and its systems enactment with astronauts connected board, including navigation, beingness enactment and connection acold from Earth.

The NASA Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft is seen astatine Launch Complex 39B astatine the Kennedy Space Center, connected Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, successful Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP/John Raoux)

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It besides volition springiness NASA a amended knowing of however crews run during heavy abstraction travel, officials said.

Astronauts volition instrumentality portion successful experiments during the flight, including 1 called A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response (AVATAR), which uses "organ-on-a-chip" exertion to survey however radiation and weightlessness impact the body.

Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover be a invited ceremonial astatine Kennedy Space Center successful Florida connected March 27, 2026, up of the Artemis II ngo motorboat scheduled for April 1, 2026. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)

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NASA claims Artemis II is simply a indispensable measurement earlier attempting a satellite landing connected a aboriginal mission. 

By proving the spacecraft and unit tin safely question to heavy abstraction and back, the ngo moves the bureau person to returning humans to the lunar aboveground — and yet sending astronauts to Mars.