NASA is set to launch the first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon in more than 50 years with the Artemis II mission, which is scheduled to launch tomorrow, April 1, 2026. The Orion spacecraft has a crew of four astronauts, including three from NASA – Reed Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), and Christina Koch (mission specialist) – and one from Canada (mission specialist), Jeremy Hansen. As the crew flies across the Moon, the flight will serve as a test of the operations of deep space life-support systems on the Orion spacecraft, as well as carry a unique official flight kit that will include objects from around the world and seeds of trees that were grown from seeds brought back to Earth by Apollo missions for future planting on the Moon. The kit symbolically connects Earth to the new era of continued exploration of the Moon, while providing a historical connection to Earth’s past through cultural artifacts. This mission will be marked as the best example of humanity sending humans to the Moon.
NASA’s Artemis II crew for historic Moon mission
reed wisemanReed Wiseman was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009 and is a U.S. Navy captain and highly respected naval aviator with extensive experience in combat and flight test operations. Wiseman served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) for Expedition 41, during which he remained onboard for 165 days, conducting over 300 scientific experiments. Additionally, Wiseman was the head of the Astronaut Office from 2020 to 2022, where he managed astronaut training and flight operations for the entire agency. As commander of Artemis II, Wiseman will bring his Navy and NASA leadership to lead the first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon in more than 50 years and ensure that the mission successfully validates the performance of the Orion spacecraft.Victor Glover Victor Glover is an F/A-18 pilot and U.S. Navy Captain with over 3,000 hours of flying experience, including 24 combat missions. He has earned several advanced degrees – including a master’s degree in military operational arts and sciences and a master’s degree in flight test engineering – and made history as the pilot of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission as the first crewed commercial flight to the International Space Station (ISS). During his 168 days orbiting Earth, he completed 4 spacewalks and participated in an important technology demonstration. As pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission, Glover will be the first person of color to fly beyond low Earth orbit, using his technical proficiency to conduct the manual piloting tests needed to validate Orion’s behavior in deep space.Christina KochIn 2013, NASA selected Kristin Koch, who works as an electrical engineer and has set several world records in outer space, as a member of its astronaut team. Among these achievements, she has broken the record for the longest solo spaceflight by a woman (328 days on the International Space Station) and has been part of the three all-female spacewalks in history. While living and working at remote research stations in Antarctica and Greenland, Koch gained experience as an engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before joining the Astronaut Corps. Christina Koch’s engineering background, combined with her experience working with long-duration life support systems and remote field engineering, will benefit her in serving as mission specialist for the upcoming Artemis II mission, where she will become the first woman to fly around the Moon, assisting in monitoring the lunar spacecraft’s environmental systems during the mission’s 10-day duration from Earth to the Moon and back.jeremy hansenRCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) fighter pilot Colonel Jeremy Hansen has been a member of the Canadian Space Agency since 2009. Colonel Hansen has not been to space before, but he has a long-standing reputation for being a leader in the international astronautics community. Previously, Colonel Hansen served as CAPCOM on several International Space Station missions and was the leader of NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Class.Colonel Hansen’s selection symbolizes the strong international partnership between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, which also includes Canada’s significant contribution through the CanadaRM3 robotic arm. Additionally, as Mission Specialist, Colonel Hansen makes history as the first person from outside the United States to travel beyond low-Earth orbit. In this regard, Colonel Hansen represents the global nature of the Artemis program and is responsible for ensuring that the mission achieves all of its international scientific objectives while testing the survivability systems that will ultimately be used to land future crews on the Moon.
Artemis II mission: List of personal items astronauts will take to the Moon
Wright Flyer Fabric: This kit provides one square inch of muslin fabric from the original Wright Flyer. This 1-inch by 1-inch piece of cloth flew on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985.Heritage American Flag: The American flag presented in this kit measures 13 by 8 inches in size. It holds a significant place in history for having flown during both the first (STS-1) and last (STS-135) shuttle missions, as well as SpaceX Demo-2.See the full list of items included in the kitApollo 18 Memorial Flag: This kit includes the memorial flag that was originally scheduled to fly during Apollo 18. Its importance is shown by the fact that it now serves as a symbolic bridge between an era (Apollo) that has ended and one (Artemis) that continues.Ranger 7 Photo Negative: Included with the kit is a 4 by 5 inch image (photo negative) of the first close-up images of the Moon’s surface, taken by Ranger 7 in 1964.Artemis I Moon Tree Soil: The final item in the kit is a collection of soil taken from all 10 NASA centers where there are ‘Moon Trees’. The seeds from which these trees were grown were on the uncrewed Artemis I mission.
