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NASA has announced that its ambitious Artemis II mission, the first crewed moonshot in more than 50 years, could launch as early as February 5, 2026.

The 10-day mission will send four astronauts on a journey around the Moon and back, marking humanity’s closest approach to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.

“This is a crucial step toward putting humans back on the Moon,” NASA said, underscoring that Artemis II will validate systems needed for future lunar landings.

The mission was initially expected to launch in 2024 but was delayed after engineers found that the Orion capsule’s heat shield was charred more severely than expected during the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in November 2022. Hydrogen leak issues were also

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