NASA, Artemis
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NASA's Artemis II crewed mission to the moon shows how U.S. space strategy has changed since Apollo -- and contrasts with China's closed program.
From Mercury & Apollo Missions to the Space Shuttle Program, Mars Rover Landings, & Artemis II.
On Christmas Eve 1968, the Earth received a message from astronauts on a mission like no other - the first around the moon. NASA will return in 2026. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
No one in NASA’s Artemis II crew had been born when astronauts last ventured into deep space for the final Apollo program Moon landing in 1972. For the last half-century, human space efforts have focused on science research and technology initiatives aboard low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, culminating with the Inter-national Space Station.
When four astronauts begin a historic trip around the moon as soon as February 6, they’ll climb aboard NASA’s 16.5-foot-wide Orion spacecraft with the understanding that it has