NASA crew shares major update on historic mission to orbit the Moon for first time in 50 years
NASA officials and a crew of four astronauts set to take a trip to the Moon have shared a huge update on the Artemis 2 mission.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are set to become the first crew to orbit the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission took place in 1972.
When the mission kicks off, the crew will board an Orion spacecraft, which will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for a 10-day flight, which is intended to confirm the systems and hardware which would be needed for early human lunar exploration missions.
On September 24, the crew gathered at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) to announce the name of the spacecraft they'll be using - Integrity - as well as an expected launch date.
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On the naming of the craft, NASA explains: "The name Integrity embodies the foundation of trust, respect, candor, and humility across the crew and the many engineers, technicians, scientists, planners, and dreamers required for mission success."
Officials for the space agency also revealed that, after the mission had been previously delayed until April 2026, it could now set off as early as February 5.
Wiseman said: "We're going to launch when this vehicle is ready, when this team is ready, and we're going to go execute this mission to the best of our abilities.
"We might go to the moon — that's where we want to go — but it is a test mission, and we are ready for every scenario as we ride this amazing Space Launch System on the Orion spacecraft, 250,000 miles away. It's going to be amazing."
The crew are not set to land on the Moon, with that mission instead expected to be carried out in the future with Artemis 3.
The mission comes amid what Donald Trump's administration has referred to as a 'second space race' as China has also set its sights on a lunar mission.
Lakiesha Hawkins, a top NASA official, explained: "There is a desire for us to return to the surface of the Moon and to be the first to return to the surface of the Moon."
However, Hawkins added that NASA's 'objective' is to return to the Moon 'safely'.
The trip to space will be historic for a number of reasons, marking the first crewed moon flight since the Apollo program, the first time a woman and person of color will head out to the Moon, and the farthest humans have ever been into deep space.
However, Glover has made clear he's just trying to focus on the job at hand, saying: "That's a distraction. If we want to live up to the standards that we owe the American and Canadian [public] and humanity in general, we have to be able to focus and know what the next right thing is to do. And so I actually spend a lot of time clearing that out of my head so I can focus on my job."
Meanwhile, Hansen described the mission as an 'absolute privilege', adding: "For us, Artemis 2 is about much more than just going back to the moon. It is about the pursuit of excellence."
Topics: NASA, Technology, Space
Emily Brown