Artemis II mission will take astronauts around the moon

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published March 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT

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NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, from left, Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, right, in a group photograph as they visit NASA's Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, Monday, March 30, 2026, at Launch Complex 39B of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch on Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 10-day mission will send four astronauts around the moon.

It’s the first time in more than 50 years that NASA astronauts have ventured back toward the moon. The voyage will also send humans further into space than they’ve ever gone before.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Briony Horgan, professor of planetary science at Purdue University, about the mission and why it is historic.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.