Artemis II recap, Artemis III and NASA's Moon landing plans

NASA's Artemis II crew flew around the Moon in April 2026 and came home safely. Artemis II flew around the Moon without landing. Four astronauts spent nearly ten days in the Orion spacecraft and travelled farther from Earth than any humans before them. The next mission, Artemis III, will not land on the Moon: in March 2026 NASA changed it into a test near Earth in 2027, and moved the first Artemis Moon landing to Artemis IV, targeted for early 2028.

Mission facts come from the NASA sources listed below. The space station's height comes from ESA; kilometre conversions and comparisons are ours.

What is the Artemis program?

Artemis is NASA's program to send astronauts back to the Moon. NASA says it will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon, for scientific discovery and economic benefits, and to prepare for the first crewed missions to Mars. The aim is a long-term human presence at the Moon.

The missions so far and planned:

Artemis II: ten days around the Moon

Artemis II launched on NASA's SLS rocket on 1 April 2026 at 6:35 p.m. ET from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board Orion were commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.

It was a test flight and NASA's first crewed Artemis mission. NASA says the crew tested the spacecraft's life support systems, manual piloting, exercise equipment, emergency equipment and their spacesuits.

Four astronauts shared a small cabin. NASA says Orion has 330 cubic feet of living space, "about as much living space as two minivans". It has a toilet in a hygiene bay with doors for privacy, something Apollo crews did not have, and the crew could choose from 189 different menu items.

The farthest humans have ever been from Earth

On 6 April 2026 at 12:56 p.m. CDT, Artemis II passed 248,655 miles from Earth, the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The crew kept going and reached 252,756 miles (406,771 km) at their farthest point, about 4,101 miles (6,600 km) beyond the old record.

For comparison, the International Space Station flies about 400 km above Earth (ESA), roughly a thousandth of that distance. If you have watched the station pass over (our guide to seeing the ISS), Artemis II went roughly a thousand times farther.

The lunar flyby: the far side, Earthset and a solar eclipse

During the flyby on 6 April, Orion came within 4,067 miles (6,545 km) of the Moon's surface. NASA said beforehand that the crew would be the first to see some parts of the Moon's far side with human eyes. They took more than 7,000 photos of the lunar surface, according to NASA, including the Earthset at the top of this article.

The crew also saw a solar eclipse: from where Orion was, the Moon passed in front of the Sun. On the far side, Orion lost contact with Earth for a while; NASA notes that the crew regained contact about 40 minutes after the photo of the two crescents further down this article.

To see a total solar eclipse from Earth, read our guide to the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027, including where it will be visible.

Coming home: splashdown off San Diego

Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on 10 April 2026 at 5:07 p.m. PDT, after a nearly ten-day mission. NASA's official count of the total distance flown is 695,081 miles (1,118,624 km); NASA updated that number on 7 May 2026.

Coming home is fast. NASA's Artemis II answers page described an expected atmospheric entry speed of nearly 35 times the speed of sound, with parachutes slowing Orion to less than 136 mph and splashdown at about 20 mph.

Artemis III: why it no longer lands on the Moon

Artemis III was originally meant to be the first landing. On 3 March 2026 NASA announced a new plan: Artemis III becomes a crewed test in low Earth orbit, circling relatively close to Earth, planned in that update for mid-2027, and the first Artemis landing moves to Artemis IV, targeted for early 2028.

On Artemis III, four astronauts will launch in Orion on the SLS rocket. Test versions of one or both commercial Moon landers, from SpaceX and Blue Origin, will launch separately, and Orion will practise approaching them and connecting to them (rendezvous and docking). NASA says the extra mission tests these capabilities closer to home, on the way to sending astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole.

NASA's lander article of 15 July 2026 gives a more detailed plan, with both landers: Orion will first dock alongside Blue Origin's Blue Moon test lander, and up to two astronauts may open the hatch and go inside. Later Orion docks nose-to-nose with SpaceX's Starship test lander, which the crew will not enter.

NASA also announced changes to the SLS rocket from Artemis IV onwards: a standardised rocket with a new upper stage (the part that keeps pushing after the big core stage has finished), and no longer the Exploration Upper Stage that was planned earlier.

The Artemis III crew and hardware

On 9 June 2026 NASA named the Artemis III crew:

The hardware is being built. The photo shows the Artemis III SLS core stage, the big central part of the rocket, being lowered into place in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in May 2026.

Artemis IV and V: the next Moon landings

NASA's Artemis IV page (updated 1 September 2026) targets early 2028 for the first Artemis Moon landing, on Artemis IV. The crew will fly to the Moon in Orion, move into a commercial Moon lander for the trip to the surface, and return to Orion in lunar orbit before coming home. Which lander they use is not decided yet: NASA says lander readiness will determine which provider will carry them.

In its architecture update of 3 March 2026, NASA said it expects to launch Artemis V, another landing, by late 2028, with missions about once a year after that, when it plans to begin building a Moon base.

These are targets, and space schedules often move. We will update this article when NASA announces changes.

Artemis FAQ

What is the Artemis mission and what is its purpose? Artemis is NASA's program to send astronauts back to the Moon, on increasingly difficult missions, for science, economic benefits and to prepare for crewed missions to Mars, with a long-term human presence at the Moon as the goal.

When did Artemis II launch, and at what time? On 1 April 2026 at 6:35 p.m. ET, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It splashed down on 10 April 2026.

Who was on Artemis II? Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot) and Christina Koch (mission specialist) from NASA, and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist) from the Canadian Space Agency.

How do astronauts on Artemis II use the bathroom? Orion has a toilet, the Universal Waste Management System, in a hygiene bay with doors for privacy. NASA notes that Apollo crews did not have one.

What re-entry speed did NASA expect for Artemis II? NASA's Artemis II answers page described an expected atmospheric entry speed of nearly 35 times the speed of sound, with parachutes slowing Orion to about 20 mph for splashdown.

Is Artemis III going to land on the Moon? No. Since March 2026 it is planned as a test in Earth orbit in 2027. The first Artemis landing is now Artemis IV, targeted for early 2028.

What astronauts are on Artemis III? Randy Bresnik (commander), Luca Parmitano of ESA (pilot), and Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio (mission specialists); Bob Hines is the backup.

Will Artemis IV use Starship or Blue Moon? Not decided. NASA says lander readiness will determine which provider carries the crew to the surface. SpaceX (Starship) and Blue Origin (Blue Moon) both build landers for Artemis.

Is SpaceX involved in the Artemis program? Yes. A SpaceX Starship test lander is one of the two commercial landers NASA plans to test on Artemis III. NASA has not yet said which lander will be used for the first landing.

How many astronauts have flown around the Moon on Artemis? Four, on Artemis II. Artemis I in 2022 flew without a crew.

For skywatching on Earth, our full moon calendar shows when the Moon is full.

How we checked

This article is based on NASA's own releases and pages: the Artemis II mission summary (10 April 2026, updated 7 May 2026 with the official distance flown), the record release (6 April 2026), NASA's answers to common Artemis II questions and its article about life inside Orion, the Artemis architecture update (3 March 2026), the Artemis III crew release (9 June 2026), NASA's Artemis III lander test article (15 July 2026), the Artemis IV mission page and the Artemis program page. The space station's height comes from ESA.

We converted miles to kilometres ourselves (1 mile = 1.609344 km) and worked out the comparisons with Apollo 13 and the space station. NASA's plans for Artemis III, IV and V are targets as published in 2026 and can change.

The photos are from NASA's image library (public domain); we resized them. The timeline, distance chart, Artemis III diagram and method diagram are our own. None of the images is AI-generated.