Shooting for the Moon

But the mission’s main goal isn’t to set records. Traveling in the Orion spacecraft, the Artemis II astronauts will be testing the vehicle as they go. Orion has already orbited the moon once, during the Artemis I mission in 2022, without anyone on board.

“Our job is to make sure that Orion is safe for humans to fly to and from the moon,” Glover explains. “At the end of the day, if we splash down successfully, that is the big mission objective.”

The Artemis program is a joint venture between the United States, private companies, and nations including Japan, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Together they want to return people to the moon’s surface. No human has set foot there since 1972. Then from the moon, the plan is to eventually send astronauts to Mars.

“We’ve got our eyes set farther, deeper into space,” says Lakiesha Hawkins, a top official at NASA, the U.S. space agency. “[We want to] show that we can establish a presence on Mars and further destinations.”

The U.S. is the only country that has put people on the moon. Starting in 1968, NASA sent 24 astronauts there (see “The Apollo Program” slideshow, below).

At the time, the U.S. was competing with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, a political power struggle that lasted from 1947 to 1991. The rivalry extended to space, where both nations raced to achieve milestones. With the Apollo program, the U.S. came out on top.

After that, NASA turned to robots to explore deep space. But officials say sending humans back to the moon will offer new insights. The Apollo missions explored only part of the moon. Scientists suspect that other regions, including the north and south poles, could contain important discoveries. For example, astronauts may be able to determine whether the poles hold water ice that could help humans live on the moon.

If this flight goes as planned, the next one—Artemis III—is set for mid-2027. Astronauts will land near the moon’s south pole and explore there for about a week. Then the U.S. and its allies plan to set up a space station called Gateway that will orbit the moon. Artemis IV astronauts will temporarily stay on Gateway. The station could one day support missions into deeper space.

Officials say the Artemis program isn’t just about exploration, however. China—a rival of the U.S.—also plans to send humans to the moon, by 2030. The U.S. wants to make sure American astronauts get there first so it can play a leading role in deciding how countries should interact in space.

That discussion has already started. Nearly 60 countries have signed the Artemis Accords. The U.S.-led pact confirms shared principles and guidelines to keep space friendly for the benefit of all. China has not signed it.

Glover, for one, is thinking about his role in that global cooperation as he prepares for his mission. “[As astronauts,] we have the privilege of representing all our countries,” he explains. “But when you leave the planet, you represent humanity.”