Artemis 2

The Artemis 2 mission plan is to send four astronauts in the first crewed Orion MPCV spacecraft into a lunar flyby for a maximum of 21 days using the Block 1 variant of the Space Launch System. The mission profile is a multi-trans-lunar injection (MTLI), or multiple departure burns, and includes a free-return trajectory from the Moon. The Orion spacecraft will be sent to a high Earth orbit with a period of roughly 42 hours. During this time the crew will perform various checkouts of the spacecraft's life support systems as well as an in-space rendezvous and proximity operations demonstration using the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a target. When Orion reaches perigee once again, it will fire its main engine to complete the TLI maneuver, which will send it to a lunar free-return trajectory, before returning to Earth.[3][6]

In 2017, Exploration Mission-2 was a projected single-launch mission of a Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B with an Exploration Upper Stage, lunar Block 1 Orion spacecraft, and a payload insertion of 50.7 t (55.9 short tons; 112,000 lb). The plan was to rendezvous with an asteroid previously placed in lunar orbit by the robotic Asteroid Redirect Mission and have astronauts perform space-walks and gather samples.[7] After the cancellation in April 2017[8] of the Asteroid Redirect Mission, an eight-day mission was proposed with a crew of four astronauts, sent on a free-return trajectory around the Moon.[9] Another proposal suggested in 2017 was to take four astronauts aboard Orion on an 8-to-21-day trip around the Moon to deliver the first element of the Deep Space Gateway.[10] In March 2018, it was decided to launch the first Gateway module on a commercial launch vehicle[11] because of delays in building the Mobile Launcher needed to hold the more powerful Exploration Upper Stage.[12] The launcher was selected to be the Falcon Heavy.[13]

Artist's rendition of the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit.

On 11 February 2023, NASA flipped the engine section for the Artemis 2 core to horizontal, the final major milestone before mating the section to the rest of the vehicle. On March 20, the engine section was mated with the Artemis 2 core stage, which NASA expected to be delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in summer 2023.[14]

On 3 April 2023, NASA announced the crew of the mission, consisting of three American astronauts and one Canadian astronaut.[15]

Artemis 2 is to be crewed by four astronauts, including the first woman, first person of color, and first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The first woman is to be Christina Koch, who will serve as a mission specialist. The first person of color is to be Victor J. Glover, who will serve as the pilot. The non-American is Jeremy Hansen from the CSA, under the terms of a 2020 treaty between the United States and Canada.[16] Later missions are expected to have international crews, including astronauts representing European and Asian nations.

The crew was announced on April 3, 2023, as stated by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, in his "State of NASA" speech reacting to President Joe Biden's FY2024 budget proposal.[15] The announcement occurred at a special event at a NASA facility at Ellington Field outside Houston.[17] They showed up later that day at nearby NRG Stadium for the 2023 March Madness championship game.[18]

Prime crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Reid Wiseman, NASA Second spaceflight
Pilot	Victor Glover, NASA Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Christina Koch, NASA Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Jeremy Hansen, CSA First spaceflight

MPCV Stage Adapter for CubeSat spring-loaded dispensers

NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) sought proposals in 2019 from U.S. institutions and U.S. companies to fly their CubeSat missions as secondary payloads aboard the SLS on the Artemis II mission.[19][20] NASA would accept proposals for both six-unit (12 kg, 26 lb) and 12-unit (20 kg, 44 lb) CubeSats.[21] As with the Artemis I mission, the CubeSats flying on Artemis II were to be mounted on the inside of the stage adapter ring between the SLS upper stage and the Orion spacecraft, and will be deployed after Orion separates.[21] Selections were initially planned to be made by February 2020,[19] but the date passed with no official announcement. In October 2021, NASA dropped all secondary payloads from the mission.[22]

Artemis 2 will test and demonstrate optical communications to and from Earth using the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O).[23] The O2O hardware will be integrated into the Orion spacecraft and includes an optical module (a 4 in [100 mm] telescope and two gimbals), modem and control electronics.[23] O2O will communicate with ground stations in California and New Mexico.[23] The test device will send data to Earth with a downlink rate of up to 260 megabits per second.[24]

During preliminary reviews in 2011, the launch date was placed somewhere between 2019 and 2021, but afterwards the launch date was delayed to 2023 on a Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle.[25][26] Although, as of March 2023, the mission is pegged for a November 2024 launch,[1] the need to recycle and refurbish components from Orion that flew on Artemis 1 may push this back to later in 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.[27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Artemis 2.

• Artemis II , at NASA
• Mission Overview , at NASA