Overview
- At a White House reception on Wednesday, President Trump congratulated the Artemis II astronauts and said NASA has “good chances” to land Americans on the Moon before his term ends, reiterating a 2028 target.
- Acting NASA administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed work toward a crewed surface attempt in 2028 and outlined plans for an Artemis III mission in 2027.
- NASA has moved the Space Launch System core stage from Michoud in New Orleans to Kennedy Space Center for assembly, a key step toward Artemis III testing.
- Artemis II, flown by Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, marked the first human flight to lunar orbit since 1972 and set a new crewed-distance record of 406,771 kilometers from Earth.
- The 2028 date depends on SpaceX and Blue Origin delivering lunar landers and on steady funding, as China pursues its own crewed Moon landing target around 2030.