Nasa’s Artemis II mission is crucial as doubts build that America can beat China back to the Moon

By Jessie Osborne, Research Assistant, RAND Europe

For the first time in half a century, America stands on the threshold of sending astronauts back to the Moon. Slated for launch no earlier than February 2026, Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface, but it will carry four astronauts on a flyby of Earth’s only natural satellite.

The ten day mission will take the crew further from Earth than any human has travelled since the Apollo missions. It’s a crucial test of Nasa’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, determining whether the United States can safely push beyond low Earth orbit once again. The stakes are…

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