NASA has officially received the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts on a mission around the moon in 2026. The spacecraft was handed over to NASA from Lockheed Martin, its main contractor, and is currently undergoing final tests at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Orion spacecraft will join forces with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will send the spacecraft and crew into orbit. The mission, Artemis 2, aims to establish a permanent lunar presence as part of NASA’s long-term plans for Mars exploration.
The team behind Artemis 1 successfully sent an uncrewed Orion to lunar orbit in 2022, and the program is now targeting 2027 for its first manned lunar landing mission. The Artemis 2 crew will include three astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
With the completion of the Orion spacecraft, NASA has taken a major step forward in its efforts to develop a long-term presence on the moon. The agency’s vice president of Human Space Exploration, Kirk Shireman, stated that this milestone marks “a significant step” in the nation’s plans for lunar exploration and potential missions to Mars.
The Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028, with the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasa-just-got-the-orion-spacecraft-that-will-fly-astronauts-around-the-moon-on-artemis-2-in-2026