NASA's first manned moon mission in over 50 years could come as soon as next month as final preparations are made

NASA is set to launch its first manned moon mission in over 50 years as early next month, as the final preparations are being made for a project called Artemis II.

Somewhat shockingly, it’s been half a century since we made the journey to the moon.

While the likes of NASA have been placing space tools on the moon during this time, we’ve not sent a human there since Apollo 17 in 1972 – just three years after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first people up there.

But the wait to explore the moon again draws ever closer to being over, as Artemis II could be readying for launch next month.

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NASA leads the charge with the first manned moon mission in 50 years

With heavy competition from the likes of SpaceX, NASA announced last February that it intended to go back to the moon with a mission labeled Artemis II.

The first mission is set to see four astronauts fly further into space than anyone else has before, going past the moon, orbiting it twice, and returning to land.

The 10-day manned moon mission is being led by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

It will be the first time humans have traveled to the moon since 1972, and it will serve as an information-gathering expedition before the space agency parks a manned rocket there a few months later.

And they want you to track it with a flight-radar-esque program.

But having revealed that the mission was aiming for the Q1 window of 2026, it seems that the Artemis II mission is almost ready and raring for liftoff.

Artemis II could be set for liftoff next month

With the world eagerly waiting to see the next leg of the space race, reports suggest that the final preparations for Artemis II are being made, and a wet rehearsal is planned for later in January.

If all goes swimmingly, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft could be placed on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as February 6.

The journey is expected to span 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon and take ten days to complete, which will be the longest journey that astronauts have made.

T-minus 25 days until liftoff!

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