Revisiting the Last Crewed Moon Mission on the Eve of the Next

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NNext month, NASA is expected to launch the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than half a century.

During the 10-day Artemis II mission, scheduled as early as Feb. 6, four astronauts will circle the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft — the program has not yet returned people to the lunar surface. During the journey, Orion is expected to travel more than 4,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon. This would mark the longest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. The crew will also achieve many other milestones: for one, pilot Victor Glover will become the first person of color to fly beyond low Earth orbit, and mission specialist Christina Koch will become the first woman to do so.

On board, the Artemis II crew will work on various experiments. For example, they will explore the impacts of spaceflight on multiple aspects of human health and make new observations of the Moon’s surface. They could even become the first to see certain areas of the far side of the Moon.

All of this is in preparation for future Artemis missions, during which astronauts hope to learn more about regions of the moon that remain elusive. For example, the Artemis III mission planned for 2027 aims to send astronauts to the South Pole for the first time. It’s very cold there, increasing the chances that the crew will encounter frozen water, a critical resource for future space travel.

The final goal of the Artemis program is to establish the first ever lunar space station, which will orbit the Moon. It would host cutting-edge research and could later serve as a staging post for humans heading to Mars. For now, these exploits remain purely hypothetical.

Read more: “The woman Mercury astronauts couldn’t do without”

Next month’s journey would not be possible without lessons learned from the Apollo missions, which brought the first human steps to the Moon and the discovery that the Moon is a rocky body with an interior and ingredients similar to those of Earth.

Humans last walked on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The crew conducted geological studies and collected surface samples, among other cosmic experiments. The astronaut team included geologist Harrison Schmitt, the last living person to set foot on the Moon. Schmitt is also the only geologist to have ever set foot on the lunar surface.

Unlike previous astronauts, he was not a pilot before. In preparation for the mission, he completed a 53-week flight training course at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. When he finally arrived on the Moon, he explored the Taurus-Littrow Valley and collected more than 240 pounds of rock samples to return to Earth for further study.

As Schmitt embarked on his first rover excursion into the valley, he exclaimed, “This is a good geologist’s paradise if I’ve ever seen one!” »

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Main image: NASA

• Kristen French

  Published on January 23, 2026

  Kristen French is an associate editor at Nautilus. She has worked in science journalism since 2013, reporting and writing articles and news for publications such as Wired, Backchannel, The Verge, And New York Review. She holds a master’s degree in science journalism from Columbia University.