NASA astronauts design mission patches to tell the story of each shuttle mission, a tradition dating back to the 1960s. Here’s what’s behind the Artemis II emblem.

The Artemis II flight plan consists of several key phases.

Like the US, China is seeking allies to boost its lunar ambitions. Russia, South Africa, Pakistan, Egypt, Serbia, Belarus and Azerbaijan are among the countries that have backed its plan for an international lunar research station. China also has said it wants to launch crewed missions to Mars and build a permanently inhabited base there.

NASA announced updates to the Artemis program, including phased lunar landings, increased commercial involvement, and new nuclear propulsion missions to support sustainable Moon operations.

America’s last lunar venture went down in February 2024, when the US landed an unmanned lunar spacecraft called Odysseus near the moon’s south pole; its first in 50 years. Odysseus carried six NASA experiments and six commercial items, including a Jeff Koons sculpture.

The mission is expected to last 10 days. NASA says its Artemis II scientific goals include exploring astronaut health, testing the life support systems, observing and recording lunar science and preparing for future crewed Artemis missions to the Moon and possibly Mars.

NASA added a new mission to its Artemis moon program involving a spacecraft docking test in Earth's orbit before landing its first astronauts on the moon in over half a century, overhauling the flagship U.

Tonight, four astronauts will strap into a capsule on Florida's Space Coast and do something no human has done since 1972, leave Earth's orbit and head toward the Moon. NASA's Artemis II mission, targeting liftoff at 6:24 p.