A photo released from Artemis 2 shows swirling star trails through the windows of Orion capsule Integrity during the crew’s April trip to the moon and back.
Four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen — flew the 10-day mission, giving each crew member a dedicated window view from the capsule.
The mission ended with a Pacific splashdown on April 10, marking a visible milestone in NASA’s push to send humans beyond low Earth orbit again.
NASA plans to follow Artemis 2 with an Artemis 3 docking test in Earth orbit in 2027 and a crewed lunar landing on Artemis 4 in late 2028.
The program aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since Apollo’s final mission in 1972 and build toward a longer-term lunar presence.
With Artemis 3 now a practice run, what critical technologies must be proven in orbit to ensure a safe 2028 lunar landing?
Artemis 2 flew farther than any human before. What new deep-space challenges did this record-breaking journey reveal?
How will heavy reliance on commercial partners like SpaceX reshape NASA's role in future deep-space exploration missions?