Victor Glover will become the first Black astronaut to fly to the Moon. Christina Koch will become the first woman to make the journey. Jeremy Hansen will be the first non-American to orbit the Moon — a Canadian, representing the partnership between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency that helped build the program's robotic systems [1]. Reid Wiseman, the mission commander, is a Navy test pilot and former International Space Station crew member. His job is straightforward: keep everyone alive while testing systems that have never carried humans this far from Earth. This isn't a diversity exercise. These are four of the most experienced astronauts in the world, chosen because the mission they're flying is brutally demanding. But the fact that the crew looks different from every Apollo crew that came before it is worth noting — not as a footnote, but as a feature.

This Isn't Apollo Redux — It's a Systems Test

Here's the part most coverage gets wrong: Artemis II is not a Moon landing mission. The crew will not touch the lunar surface. They'll orbit the Moon and come home. That might sound anticlimactic after 53 years of waiting, but it's actually the most important step in the entire Artemis program. Think of it this way. The Orion spacecraft has flown to the Moon once before — on Artemis I in late 2022, an uncrewed test flight that circled the Moon and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. That mission proved the capsule could survive the journey. Artemis II proves it can keep four humans alive while doing it [2]. The mission will test life support systems under real conditions — not simulations, not ground tests, not computer models. Four people breathing, eating, sleeping, and working inside a spacecraft 250,000 miles from the nearest hospital. The communication systems will be pushed to their limits as the crew flies behind the Moon, temporarily losing contact with Earth. Navigation systems will guide Orion through a precise trajectory that uses the Moon's gravity to sling the spacecraft back toward home [2]. Every single one of these systems has to work perfectly before NASA will attempt Artemis III — the mission that actually lands astronauts on the lunar surface. If Artemis II finds problems, they get fixed on the ground. If those same problems showed up during a landing mission, the consequences could be catastrophic. So no, this isn't a victory lap. It's a final exam.

The Commercial Space Factor

One of the biggest differences between Apollo and Artemis is who's building the hardware. Apollo was almost entirely a government operation. NASA designed the spacecraft, contracted with aerospace giants like Grumman and North American Aviation, and controlled every aspect of the program. The commercial space industry as we know it didn't exist. Artemis is different. Redwire Corporation, a commercial space technology company, has embedded advanced imaging and navigation systems aboard the Orion spacecraft that will fly today. Their technology will provide real-time visual data during critical mission phases — the kind of situational awareness that Apollo astronauts had to manage with paper checklists and analog instruments [3]. This isn't charity. Redwire built systems that NASA needs, and NASA is paying for them. But the relationship signals something important about how space exploration works now. The government sets the destination. Commercial companies build the tools to get there. And the technology developed for lunar missions eventually flows back into terrestrial products — satellite imaging, navigation systems, materials science.

SpaceX is building the lunar lander for Artemis III. Blue Origin has a competing lander contract. Axiom Space is manufacturing the spacesuits. The entire supply chain of lunar exploration has been distributed across the private sector in a way that would have been unthinkable during Apollo. Whether this model produces better results than the old government-only approach is a question that Artemis II will start to answer. Today's launch is the first major crewed test of hardware built under this hybrid public-private framework. If it works, it validates a model. If it doesn't, the scrutiny will be intense.

What Happens After Today

Assuming Artemis II succeeds, here's the roadmap: Artemis III is currently targeted for 2028. That's the actual lunar landing — two astronauts will descend to the Moon's south pole in a SpaceX Starship-derived lander while the other two remain in orbit aboard Orion. If it happens on schedule, it will be the first Moon landing in 56 years and the first time a woman has walked on the lunar surface. Artemis IV and beyond will begin building the Lunar Gateway — a small space station orbiting the Moon that serves as a staging point for surface missions. The Gateway is designed to be permanently crewed, creating a sustained human presence in lunar orbit for the first time. The long game is Mars. NASA has been explicit that the Artemis program is a stepping stone. The technologies tested on and around the Moon — long-duration life support, deep space navigation, radiation shielding, in-situ resource utilization — are the same technologies needed to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. All of that starts with today's launch.

Why You Should Actually Care

Space missions have a cynicism problem. After decades of announcements, delays, budget overruns, and vague timelines, it's reasonable to wonder whether any of this will actually happen. The Space Launch System is over budget and behind schedule. The Artemis program has been delayed multiple times. The original target for Artemis II was 2024. But here's the thing: the rocket is on the pad. The crew is suited up. The countdown is running. After years of "someday," today is the day. And the stakes extend beyond national pride or scientific curiosity. The Moon's south pole contains water ice — potentially billions of tons of it — that could be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel. Whoever establishes a permanent presence at the lunar poles gains access to resources that make further space exploration dramatically cheaper. China's Chang'e program is already landing robotic missions on the Moon's far side and south pole. The European Space Agency, Japan, India, and private companies are all planning lunar missions. The question isn't whether humanity is going back to the Moon. It's who gets there first, who stays, and who controls the resources. Artemis II won't answer those questions. But it will determine whether America is still in the race. Launch is at 6:24 PM ET. Set a reminder. This one actually matters.