Nasa targets March 6 date to send humans back around the Moon
BBC World
February 20, 2026
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Nasa has set its sights on March 6 for the historic Artemis II mission, aiming to send humans around the Moon for the first time in over five decades. This ambitious journey will see four astronauts—three Americans and one Canadian—embark on a 10-day trip that will take them farther from Earth than any previous human-crewed mission. The mission follows a successful "wet dress rehearsal," a critical pre-launch test where the rocket was fueled and went through its countdown sequence. This comes after an earlier attempt in February was cut short due to a hydrogen fuel leak, but issues have since been resolved.
The Artemis II crew includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. They will travel aboard Nasa's massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which stands at 98 meters tall. The Orion capsule, where the astronauts will live, work, and sleep during their mission, is positioned at the top of the rocket. The spacecraft's interior is about the size of a minibus, offering limited space for the crew to complete their 10-day journey.
The mission will begin with a
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Originally published on BBC World on 2/20/2026