Over 50 Years in the Making: Another Small Step for Man, Another Giant Leap for Mankind
All you need to know about the Artemis II mission to the moon
By Waxyscorpion407
Introduction/Background Information
On July 20th, 1969, at around 20:17 UTC, Neil Armstrong sent a radio transmission to mission control in Houston, confirming the successful landing of Apollo 11’s landing module, the Eagle, stating, “The Eagle has landed!” Only a few hours later did both he and the lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, exit the module onto the surface of the moon. It was then that Armstrong said one of the most recognizable quotes in the history of our planet: “That’s one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind.” The Apollo program was the United States’ space program dedicated to research and exploration of the Earth’s moon in the '60s and '70s. NASA scientists were able to do much of that research as they desired, making it a largely successful series of launches. However, following Apollo, despite major advancements in technology, NASA has failed to surpass or even match the same successes attained by it. The Space Shuttle program aimed to establish our current International Space Station in Earth’s orbit, but we haven’t been able to make it back to the moon since.
Artemis Program
Overview
The Artemis program is NASA’s ongoing international mission to return humans to the Moon, including the first woman and person of color to walk on the lunar surface. It aims to establish a sustainable, long-term human presence at the lunar South Pole, using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion capsule, and commercial landers to prepare for future human missions to Mars.
Image credit: NASA
Rocket and Capsule
The current rocket that has been used for both missions so far–Artemis I and Artemis II–was the SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1. Block 1 is NASA’s only currently operational design of the SLS rocket, but other iterations of it have been proposed for future operations, which you can see in the diagram below:
Image credit: NASA
Since any rocket other than Block 1 is currently just an idea, let me tell you about Block 1. The NASA Space Launch System is a powerful rocket designed for the Artemis Generation of moon missions, using advanced, space shuttle-derived solid rocket boosters and four liquid-fueled RS-25 engines. It features a central core stage, a conical adapter (LVSA) for the upper stage (ICPS), and an adapter (OSA) for the Orion spacecraft, which also supports CubeSat payloads. This infrastructure allows the SLS to serve as a versatile, high-capacity launch vehicle for crewed lunar exploration.
Below are some basic stats and a diagram of the rocket.
SLS Vehicle
Vehicle design: Evolvable super heavy-lift
Height: 322.4 ft. (98.27 m)
Weight: 5.74 million lbs. (2,604 metric tons [t]) fueled
3.5 million lbs. (1,588 t) unfueled
Main propulsion: Four RS-25 liquid propellant engines and
two five-segment solid rocket boosters
Maximum thrust: 8.8 million lbs. (39,144 kN)
Launch thrust: 8.27 million lbs. (36,787 kN)
Maximum speed: 22,670 mph (36,484 km/h) at ICPS translunar
injection (TLI) main engine cutoff (MECO)
Single-launch payload to low Earth orbit:
209,439 lbs. (95 t)
Payload to TLI: > 59,525 lbs. (27 t)
Image credit: BBC
Artemis Missions
As of making this topic, there have been and will be a total of 5 missions under the program: Artemis I, Artemis II, Artemis III, Artemis IV, and–you guessed it–Artemis V. I’ll provide a brief summary of what each mission’s purpose is.
Artemis I
Artemis I was the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars. It was an uncrewed lunar flight test that launched from Launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 16th, 2022, and splashed down on December 11th of the same year, lasting just under 25 and a half days.
Image credit: NASA
Artemis II
Artemis II was built on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022 and demonstrated a broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions. The Artemis II test flight is currently NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The mission was a crewed lunar flyby that launched with 4 crew members: Reid Wiseman, mission commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist. It launched from Launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1st, 2026, and splashed down off the coast of California on April 11th, 2026.
Image credit: NBC News
Image credit: Fox 35 Orlando
Artemis III
Scheduled for 2027, this new demonstration mission in low Earth orbit will test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively. The Artemis III mission will launch a crew in the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon. NASA will announce specifics on the Artemis III mission design and crew closer to the 2027 launch.
Artemis IV
Artemis IV will be one of the most complex undertakings of engineering and human ingenuity in the history of deep space exploration, exploring the lunar South Pole region. The astronauts’ observations, samples, and data collected will expand our understanding of our solar system and home planet, while inspiring the Artemis Generation. Artemis IV astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend approximately a week near the South Pole of the Moon conducting new science before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth. As of April 2026, Artemis IV is being targeted for early 2028.
Artemis V
Using the standard SLS (Space Launch System) rocket configuration, NASA expects to launch this lunar surface mission by late 2028, with subsequent missions planned roughly once per year.
Artemis II Recap so far
This monumental event attracted 400,000 in-person spectators, and NASA’s live broadcast on YouTube got an additional 3 million viewers. Below is the progression of the order of events from the mission (Information Credit: CNN):
- Day 2: The translunar injection was successfully carried out, allowing Orion to leave behind a circular orbit of Earth and transfer to an oval-shaped orbit. It was the last major engine firing of the mission.
- Day 3: The crew conducted a CPR demonstration in space and carried out a communications test through the Deep Space Network, a system of radio antennae on Earth.
- Day 4: The astronauts conducted a review of their plan to capture images during the lunar flyby.
- Day 5: Crew members practiced rapidly donning their spacesuits in case of an emergency. Orion entered the lunar sphere of influence, or the point in space where the tug of the moon’s gravity is stronger than that of Earth’s gravity.
- Day 6: Orion SUCCESSFULLY conducted a roughly three-hour flyby of the far side of the moon and made its closest approach to the satellite, about 4,112 statute miles above the lunar surface. The crew reached the maximum distance from Earth.
- Day 7: Orion exited the lunar sphere of influence and began the journey back home. The crew discussed their observations from the flyby with scientists in mission control. Apart from that, this was the astronauts’ day off.
- Days 8-9: There were more demonstrations of Orion’s capabilities, like its ability to provide the crew with radiation shielding and to be manually piloted. The crew also tested compression garments that can reduce heart rate increases.
- Day 10: Orion descended through Earth’s atmosphere and safely splashed down just off the coast of California at 8:07 pm EST. Welcome home to the crew of Artemis II!
Even though I do live in central Florida, I did not make the drive out to the east coast for the launch. That being said, I’m fortunate enough to live in a place where I have near-perfect visibility for watching launches. Below are a couple of pictures I took from the launch:
Artemis II leaving the Earth 
A Sun Country 737 as it flies by the trail of smoke from the launch
Helpful links
Below are a few links you might want to check out to learn more:
Closing remarks
This event stands to be one of the greatest achievements of humankind that I’ve been alive to witness. In a time when our country is heavily divided, this incredible feat of human ingenuity serves as a unifying factor that can be used to restore the American way.
Thank you so much for giving this topic a peek! Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, and I’ll be happy to address them! As always, I hope you have a wonderful day 
Great post though, thanks for sharing!
