NASA hopes that its first manned mission around the Moon in 50 years will take place as early as February 2026. Previously, the space agency planned to launch it by the end of April 2026, the BBC reports.
The mission, dubbed Artemis II, will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, a mission the agency hopes will test systems for future landings and ultimately establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
According to NASA Acting Deputy Administrator Lakish Hawkins, this mission is a key milestone in the development of space exploration.
"We together have a front row seat to history... The launch window could open as early as the fifth of February, but we want to emphasize that safety is our top priority," Hawkins said.
Artemis launch manager Charlie Blackwell-Thompson explained that the rocket system that will send astronauts to the Moon, the Space Launch System (SLS), is now "pretty much assembled and ready to go." All that remains is to finish work on the Orion capsule that will be attached to the SLS, as well as to complete ground tests.
The Artemis II mission will carry NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, on a 10-day journey. They won't land on the Moon, but they will be the first crew to fly beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. They will also travel farther into space than anyone in history.
"They're going at least 5,000 nautical miles (9,200Km) past the Moon, which is much higher than previous missions have gone," says Jeff Radigan, Artemis II's principal flight manager.
The crew will, among other things, take part in an experiment to track how space affects their bodies. Scientists will also grow tissue samples from the astronauts' blood, called organoids, both before and after their journey, to later compare them and see the effects of space.