Published on Jan. 8, 2026, 11:30 AM
Apollo 13’s record distance from Earth has stood for over half a century. Can Artemis 2 launch in time to break it?
We’re at roughly T minus one month for the launch of Artemis 2. Here’s what we can expect from this journey, the role Canada is playing in it, and how the mission may make history in more ways than one.
The launch window for Artemis 2 is currently scheduled to open no sooner than February 5, 2026. That means, barring any delays due to technical issues or inclement weather, the mission will lift off on that date, fly around the Moon on February 10, and return to Earth by the 15th.
And what is the mission? NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will be making the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft.
Similar to Apollo 8 back in December of 1968, this will be a multi-day trip around the Moon and back, to assess the spacecraft’s performance with a full crew on board.
A map of the Artemis 2 mission, detailing the different stages of the flight, as well as the maneuvers the crew will perform in high Earth orbit, when in close proximity to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). (NASA)
Along the way, the astronauts will ensure the spacecraft’s life support system is functioning properly, test Orion’s maneuverability, and perform various medical and scientific studies. This includes the closest human observations of the Moon in over 50 years.
The ultimate goal is to put NASA on track to launch Artemis 3, which will land astronauts near the lunar south pole, returning humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time since 1972.