NASA's Artemis 2 crew sees Orion spacecraft for the first time

A crew of four astronauts saw the Orion spacecraft for the first time, in preparation of the Artemis II mission around the Moon, set for November 2024. Under the Artemis program, NASA is planning a series of missions of escalating complexity to return to the Moon and build a sustained presence in order to develop and test technologies for an eventual journey to Mars.

The first, Artemis 1, flew an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon in 2022. Artemis 2, planned for November 2024, will do the same with crew on board. NASA's Artemis 3 mission, set to return humans to the Moon in 2025, might not involve a crewed landing after all, an official said Tuesday.