Christina Koch is getting ready for an amazing trip. She and three other astronauts will journey more than 230,000 miles from Earth. They’ll zoom around the moon and back at speeds of up to 25,000 miles per hour. The crew will fly closer to the moon than anyone has in more than 50 years!

The 10-day mission is known as Artemis II. It could happen as soon as February. NASA, the U.S. space agency, says this is a big step toward another goal. Next year, it plans to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972.

Christina Koch is getting ready for an amazing trip. She and three other astronauts will travel more than 230,000 miles from Earth. They will zoom around the moon and back. They’ll reach speeds of up to 25,000 miles per hour. The crew will fly closer to the moon than anyone has in more than 50 years!

The 10-day mission is called Artemis II. It could happen as soon as February. NASA, the U.S. space agency, says this is a big step toward another goal. Next year, it plans to land humans on the moon. That hasn’t happened since 1972.

But NASA isn’t ready for astronauts to walk on the lunar surface just yet. First it has to make sure it can get them there and back safely.

That’s where the Artemis II crew comes in. They will fly around the moon in a spacecraft called Orion (above). They will make sure it works properly.

The crew will go thousands of miles past the far side of the moon. That’s the side we can’t see from Earth.

“We could see parts of the moon that never have had human eyes lay upon them before,” Koch says.

But NASA isn’t ready for astronauts to walk on the lunar surface yet. First it has to make sure astronauts can get there and come back safely.

That’s where the Artemis II crew comes in. They will fly around the moon in a spacecraft. It’s called Orion (above). They will make sure Orion works properly.

The crew will go thousands of miles past the far side of the moon. That’s the side we can’t see from Earth.

“We could see parts of the moon that never have had human eyes lay upon them before,” Koch says.

From 1969 to 1972, 12 American men walked on the moon. The astronauts were part of NASA’s Apollo program. They collected rocks and soil that scientists still study today. Since then, only small robots called rovers have explored the moon.

The Artemis program was created to send astronauts back to the moon. It’s part of an even larger plan. In the future, NASA wants to send humans farther into space. Scientists from the U.S. and other countries are building a space station called Gateway. It could one day orbit the moon. Astronauts could stop there on their way to Mars!

From 1969 to 1972, 12 American men walked on the moon. The astronauts were part of NASA’s Apollo program. They collected rocks and soil. Scientists still study these today. Since 1972, only small robots called rovers have explored the moon.

The Artemis program was created to send people back to the moon. It’s part of an even larger plan. In the future, NASA wants to send humans farther into space. Scientists from the U.S. and other countries are building a space station. It’s called Gateway. It could one day orbit the moon. Astronauts could stop there on their way to Mars!

The Artemis II crew has been training since June 2023. They’ve simulated every part of their trip. NASA will use what the crew learns to get ready for the next mission. In 2027, humans could land on the moon during Artemis III.

“We like to think that our true mission isn’t fulfilled until we see someone walking on the moon,” says Koch. “That’s when we know we did our job.”

The Artemis II crew has been training since June 2023. They have simulated every part of the trip. NASA will use what the crew learns to prepare for the next mission. In 2027, humans could land on the moon during Artemis III.

“We like to think that our true mission isn’t fulfilled until we see someone walking on the moon,” says Koch. “That’s when we know we did our job.”