NASA's Manned Moon Mission May Have a Date

NASA is gearing up to send astronauts beyond low earth orbit for the first time in more than 50 years—perhaps as soon as the evening of Feb. 5. On Tuesday, officials announced that they're pushing toward a launch window for the ambitious Artemis II mission that opens on that date, per Ars Technica. The window will last about five days, with subsequent windows of similar length to open in March and April. The latest possible launch date would be April 26, per Space.com.

The mission will carry four astronauts—NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen—on a 10-day journey around the moon, designed to pave the way for future lunar exploration. Preparations are progressing, with the Space Launch System rocket already stacked and marked ready for flight, and final checks underway on the Orion spacecraft. Later this year, Orion will be attached to the top of the rocket, and early next year, the combined vehicle will roll out to Kennedy Space Center for final ground system hookups and a crucial "wet dress rehearsal," per Ars Technica.

Once Artemis II launches, the Orion spacecraft will separate from the rocket's upper stage after about three hours and spend a day circling Earth as astronauts test onboard systems. If all goes well, Orion will then fire its main engine to set off on a loop around the moon, passing 5,000 to 9,000 miles beyond it before heading home. A primary goal is to observe how Orion's heat shield handles reentry. An earlier uncrewed test saw unexpected chipping, prompting NASA to adjust the reentry path to reduce stress on the shield.