The Artemis II mission brought four astronauts farther from Earth than humanity had ever ventured before.
The mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 1 April, carrying astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen and Reid Wiseman on a journey around the Moon.
The mission then concluded on 10 April, when the crew’s module splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California.
During their trip, the Artemis II crew shared valuable data and images that kept space enthusiasts and curious onlookers glued to their devices, following the mission’s progress.
From the impressive launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the images of the "dark side of the Moon" and the naming of a crater after Carroll Taylor Wiseman, the late wife of Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II mission captured headlines and widespread attention.
To discuss its importance, the role of Europe and what comes after, Euronews Tech Talks talked to Kate Arkless Gray, a space journalist based in the UK, and Senne Starckx, a science journalist based in Belgium.
What was the purpose of Artemis II?
Artemis II was a step towards the next Moon landing. However, it involved a fly-by trip around the Moon and did not include a landing itself.
“It’s comparable to Apollo 8 in the 60s, which was the first manned mission to the Moon. They did not land either, but that was a step for the famous Apollo 11,” Starckx explained.
Artemis II was indeed an occasion for NASA to test life support systems and more programmes for the next steps of the Artemis mission.
What’s after Artemis II?
Artemis III and Artemis IV.
Artemis II followed Artemis I, a mission launched in 2022 with no astronauts on board, designed to test the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule (the spacecraft later used as the astronauts' home).
The next step after Artemis II is Artemis III, scheduled for next year. “Artemis III was due to be the human landing on the Moon, but that has now been updated,” Arkless Gray explained.
Artemis III will now stay in low-Earth orbit and test the Orion’s capsule ability to dock with one or more human landing systems.
If all goes well, then Artemis IV is expected to take place in 2028 and will be about the Moon landing.
Why do we even want to go back to the Moon?
The Moon is an interesting destination for many reasons, but not all of them are scientific.
“Space exploration isn’t all just about human curiosity,” Arkless Gray said.
The United States isn’t the only country interested in getting to the Moon. China, Russia and India are also working on Moon landing missions, making the space environment quite competitive.
Returning to the Moon is also appealing for future technological developments. “I think we already know a lot about the Moon. Now it's more about how we can build a permanent presence there? How can we build a moon base? How can we harvest water there?” Senne explained.
What’s Europe’s role in the Artemis mission?
The European Space Agency (ESA) had a crucial role in the Artemis II mission, but its future in Artemis missions is unclear.
ESA built the European Service Module to provide electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water to the Orion spacecraft.
ESA was supposed to build the Lunar Gateway, a Moon-orbiting station for the Artemis III programme. On 24 March 2026, however, NASA paused the development of this base and modified the scope of Artemis III.
“Everything is kind of in limbo at the moment,” Arkless Gray told Euronews Next.
“Their [NASA’s] new plans are quite ambitious. It will be interesting to see how they manage to build this, especially when NASA itself is facing some rather big budgetary cuts,” she continued.
Aren’t there other more urgent problems to focus on?
It depends on who you ask.
According to some people Euronews Next interviewed in the streets of Brussels, the Artemis mission shouldn’t be a priority as there are more urgent problems to tackle.
However, Arkless Gray does not share this perspective.
“There’s nothing stopping us from doing both. We really could do both if we wanted to,” Arkless Gray said, underlining that investing in space does not mean investing less on Earth.
“All money spent on space is spent here on Earth, so it’s creating jobs and a whole industry helping the economy,” she continued.
