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The Artemis II mission is not only man's return to orbit around the moon after more than half a century, but also a flight full of historic and symbolic firsts. The crew, consisting of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will embark on a journey of about 10 days that will take them beyond the far side of the moon to a distance never reached by humans.
The mission profile includes 40 minutes without communication with Earth, a free reentry orbit and the most extreme atmospheric re-entry ever attempted in manned spaceflight. But what makes the flight even more meaningful is precisely the composition of the crew: it has been chosen to symbolize a new phase in space exploration. Artemis II focuses not only on technology, but also on new human records that will go down in the history books.
Christina Koch, the first woman in the lunar environment
One of the key players in the mission is Christina Koch, the first woman to reach the moon. The astronaut previously set the record for the longest continuous space flight by a woman, with 328 days aboard the International Space Station. Now, her journey marks a milestone: for the first time, a woman will leave Earth's orbit to go into deep space.
Her presence is one of the strongest symbols of the Artemis program, which is explicitly committed to a more inclusive form of exploration. Koch thus becomes the face of a new generation of astronauts preparing for future lunar bases and missions to Mars.
Victor Glover, the first African-American astronaut to head to the moon
Another first concerns Victor Glover, pilot of the mission and the first African-American astronaut to travel to the moon. Glover, a former Marine in the U.S. Navy, already flew a mission to the International Space Station in 2020, but Artemis II will take him far beyond low Earth orbit. During the mission, he will have a crucial operational role: he will manually pilot the Orion capsule at certain stages to test maneuvers essential for future flights.
Jeremy Hansen, the first non-American
In addition to the NASA astronauts, Jeremy Hansen, a member of the Canadian Space Agency, is also flying along. He will become the first non-American astronaut to travel to the moon, and is also the only crew member for whom this is the first-ever space flight.
His presence underscores the international nature of the Artemis program. Indeed, the flight is a global project, joining international partners and laying the groundwork for a future permanent presence on the lunar surface. Hansen will also have to adapt to microgravity during a journey that will be much longer and much farther from Earth than flights in orbit around our planet.
Technical records
Artemis II will also set unprecedented technical records. The crew will be about 400,000 kilometers from Earth, surpassing the distances of the Apollo missions. During the passage along the moon's backside, the astronauts will be completely isolated for about 40 minutes, while the capsule will reach speeds above 11 kilometers per second on re-entry into the atmosphere, with extreme temperatures captured by the ablative heat shield.
(©GreenMe.it 2026 / Managing Editor : Selma Keshkire - The Press Junction / Picture : Picture Alliance - Anadolu - Paul Hennessy)