The four astronauts selected for NASA's Artemis II mission have entered quarantine as the space agency prepares for the first crewed journey to the Moon in more than 50 years. The historic mission, now scheduled for launch on February 8, 2026, will mark humanity's return to deep space after a hiatus stretching back to the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, began their quarantine period on Friday, January 23. The measure is standard procedure to ensure the crew does not contract any illnesses that could delay or jeopardize the mission. During quarantine, the astronauts will continue final preparations while limiting contact with the outside world.
The mission will make history in multiple ways beyond being the first crewed lunar voyage in over five decades. Victor Glover will become the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit, while Christina Koch will be the first woman to venture into deep space. Jeremy Hansen will become the first non-American citizen to leave low Earth orbit, representing a significant milestone for international space cooperation.
NASA announced on January 30 that the launch has been postponed by two days from the original February 6 date due to unusually cold weather affecting Cape Canaveral, Florida, and much of the North American continent. The Artemis II rocket was rolled out to Kennedy Space Center on January 17, a process that took approximately eight to ten hours to position the massive vehicle on the launchpad.
The ten-day mission will see the four astronauts travel approximately 250,000 miles to reach the Moon, a journey expected to take three days. Once in lunar orbit, the crew will spend one day observing the far side of the Moon, a region that cannot be seen from Earth and has never been directly observed by human eyes from such close proximity.
Artemis II represents a crucial stepping stone in NASA's ambitious Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon. The mission will test critical systems and hardware needed for future lunar exploration, paving the way for Artemis III, which plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface.
The international dimension of the Artemis program continues to expand, with Oman becoming the 61st nation to sign the Artemis Accords on January 26, 2026. These agreements establish principles for peaceful cooperation in civil space exploration and have become a cornerstone of the growing global coalition supporting lunar exploration.
Coming more than three years after the successful uncrewed Artemis I test flight, which sent the Orion spacecraft around the Moon in November 2022, Artemis II represents the culmination of years of development and preparation. The mission will validate life support systems, navigation capabilities, and other essential technologies that will be required for longer-duration missions to the lunar surface and eventually to Mars.
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