Why Artemis II Matters
The mission represents a pivotal milestone in NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and use lunar missions as a stepping stone toward eventual crewed missions to Mars.
Unlike previous uncrewed test flights, Artemis II will place astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft as it travels beyond low Earth orbit, a capability the United States has not demonstrated since the Apollo era.
If the upcoming tests proceed as planned, Artemis II will move NASA closer to launching humans deeper into space than at any point in modern history.
