NASA engineers work alongside the tip of a solid rocket booster for the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in February. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Artemis
CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, left, and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, in 2023 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Their mission to go around the moon has been delayed until at least April, 2026. Joel Kowsky/NASA hide caption
Astronauts and Artemis II mission specialists Christina Koch, left, and Jeremy Hansen, right, exit the International Space Station mockup in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility on Aug. 26, 2024, at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Danielle Villasana for NPR hide caption
How the crew of NASA's Artemis II prepares for a mission to the moon
NASA astronaut Victor Glover will be making his second flight to space as the pilot of the Artemis II mission. Riley McClenaghan/NASA hide caption
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 15, 2024. The rocket is carrying Intuitive Machines' lunar lander on its way to the moon, with a planned Feb. 22 touchdown. John Raoux/AP hide caption
This combination of photos shows, from left, astronauts Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman. AP hide caption
Orion's maximum distance from Earth was achieved on flight day 13, when it was 268,563 miles away. That's farther than any other spacecraft built for people--but only mannequins were on board. NASA/JSC hide caption
NASA's new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. This launch is the first flight test of the Artemis program. John Raoux/AP hide caption
The Artemis 1 moon rocket and the Orion spacecraft are sitting poised on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Red Huber/Getty Images hide caption
The Artemis 1 moon rocket at Launch Pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
NASA's Artemis I moon rocket sits at Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in June. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Astronaut Charlie M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site. John W. Young/NASA hide caption
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, standing atop the mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. NASA/Kim Shiflett hide caption
The NASA Artemis 1 rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard moves slowly on an 11 hour journey to a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. John Raoux/AP hide caption
Astronaut and geologist Harrison Schmitt is seen in the Lunar Roving Vehicle during NASA's Apollo 17 mission on Dec. 13, 1972. A lunar soil sample collected on the mission has remained sealed until now. Eugene A. Cernan - NASA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
NASA's ambitions for putting astronauts on the moon have been delayed. Here, newly minted astronauts from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency are seen last year. They're the first candidates to graduate under the Artemis program, and could be eligible for assignments including the Artemis missions to the Moon, International Space Station, and missions to Mars. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The massive core stage for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is in the B-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for the core stage Green Run test series. NASA hide caption
An image taken on the moon by a panoramic camera aboard the lander-ascender combination of of China's Chang'e-5 spacecraft, provided by China National Space Administration. China and Russia have announced plans to jointly construct a lunar research station. China National Space Administration/Xinhua/AP hide caption
This illustration made available by NASA in April 2020 depicts Artemis astronauts on the Moon. On Thursday, NASA announced the three companies that will develop, build and fly lunar landers, with the goal of returning astronauts to the moon by 2024. NASA via AP hide caption
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks during a demonstration of two NASA spacesuit prototypes for lunar exploration on Tuesday. Kevin Wolf/AP hide caption