Artemis II: Four astronauts announced

Remember that first mission to the moon? Well, the second is set for 2024 with four astronauts newly announced.

The first mission was un-crewed and went around the moon in a trip that lasted 25 days. This second mission will also go to a trip around the moon, but with four astronauts. This will be the first to the Moon since the Apollo mission.

Four astronauts will travel on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft going farther into the solar system than humanity has ever travelled before. The mission is set to last 10 days.

The Orion capsule will be launched to orbit aboard the Space Launch System in November 2024. This date can be pushed back depending on the time needed to recycle and refurbish components used on Artemis I.

In this mission, astronauts will perform various tests and in-space rendezvous and proximity to the moon operations demonstrations.

Artemis' first crewed mission will have 3 American and 1 Canadian astronaut. The flight commander is G. Reid Wiseman, Mission’s Pilot Victor J. Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Kock, and Second Mission Specialist is Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

This flight will be Hansen’s first to space, while the American astronauts have all been to space once before. It will also be the last flight before the third and final one of the missions, that will put astronauts back on the moon in December 2025.

Artemis II is set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and return somewhere off the west coast of the United States, close to the Mexico border.