Artemis II crew completes lunar flyby on historic uncrewed test flight follow up

The Artemis II mission completed a lunar flyby this week, sending four astronauts around the Moon before returning toward Earth, ABC News reported. The uncrewed test flight follows the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 as the first crewed effort to travel beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years. [1][3]

The crew traveled farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight, surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13, according to ABC News. During the trip, the astronauts observed more of the far side of the Moon than any humans have seen before. Experts told ABC News that the United States maintained the technological capability to return to the Moon, but high costs and changing political priorities delayed the effort. [1][5]

The 10 day mission flew on a free-return trajectory using the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew. The four person crew included NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, NASA Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. [3][5]

The flight was the first crewed launch for both the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule. The journey established new milestones for human spaceflight, featuring the first woman, the first African American, and the first non-American astronaut to travel to lunar distances. [3][5]

Artemis II built upon the uncrewed Artemis I test flight to validate systems for future crewed landings on the Moon. [5]