With the Artemis II crew members back home in Houston following their historic journey to the moon, NASA is already preparing for its next mission in the Artemis program, launching as soon as next year.

Artemis II has been plagued by similar issues to those faced by its predecessor, leading NASA to shake up its plan to return humans to the Moon.

The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. Humanity’s next great voyage begins.” NASA’s Mission Control echoed with words April 1 that not been heard in a long time. Those and related words were iconic the last time an American manned space program existed,

Trump administration wants to slash science programs, return to the moon

If the pending Artemis II mission is successful, it will not just send Americans around the moon and back for the first time in more than half a century—it will send them further than any human being has traveled into space.

NASA’s Orion program is being led by a Washington state native who is helping shape the next phase of the agency’s push to return humans to the moon.

NASA has announced a major milestone in its Artemis program. On April 20, 2026, the agency will roll out the largest section of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the crucial launch vehicle for the Artemis III mission,

In the 1960s, the United States won the space race decisively by planting the American flag firmly on the moon. Over the next five years, 12 NASA astronauts walked on the moon before the Apollo program,