Artemis 2 won’t land on the moon. Here’s what mission could – and how

Eric Lagatta, USA TODAYMon, March 30, 2026 at 7:44 PM UTC

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Artemis 2 won’t land on the moon. Here’s what mission could – and how

We're going back to the surface of the moon, but not in 2026.

Maybe you've heard some buzz around NASA's Artemis 2 mission, which has made headlines as the space agency's first human lunar mission in more than 50 years. The venture is a historic undertaking – one that will send the first Black man, first woman and first Canadian on a journey that will take them farther from Earth than any humans before them.

But it's not the mission that will return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time since the era of Apollo lunar landings came to an end in 1972.

Instead of touching down on the surface, the four Artemis 2 astronauts are due to circle the moon in NASA's Orion capsule before heading back to Earth. That highly-anticipated moon landing? That should come about two years from now.

As NASA works toward a potential April 1 launch of the Artemis II mission, here's what to know about how the venture sets the stage for a future moon landing.

Artemis 2: What to know about NASA's Artemis 2 launch and its 10-day moon journey

Why the Artemis 2 mission won't include moon landing

The Artemis 2 astronauts are due to pilot NASA's Orion capsule on a 10-day journey circling the moon after launching atop the towering, 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

While NASA tested its spacecraft during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022, Artemis 2 will be the first time that the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule will fly with humans aboard. For that reason, NASA wants to use the Artemis 2 mission to ensure that both pieces of hardware are working as intended before putting boots back on the lunar surface.

After testing systems and hardware while seeing views of the far side of the moon no other humans ever have, the astronauts are due to ride Orion through Earth's atmosphere for a water landing in the Pacific Ocean near California.

1 / 0NASA's Artemis 2 mission to fly 4 astronauts around moon. Photos of crewNASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stands with the Artemis II crew during an SLS rollout press briefing.When will astronauts return to the moon? NASA targets 2028

NASA had originally targeted a moon landing for the subsequent Artemis 3 mission. But at the end of February, the U.S. space agency announced an overhaul to the Artemis campaign that included a new mission before sending humans to the surface.

Artemis 3 is now the name of a new mission planned for 2027 that will send a crew of astronauts on the Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit, where they will dock with at least one of the commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. NASA will also use the mission to test space suits, known as extravehicular activity suits, being developed by Axiom Space for astronauts on the lunar surface.

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A moon landing is now due to take place as early as 2028 during the Artemis 4 mission.

What might NASA's lunar landing look like?

SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, was originally awarded the contract to develop a lunar lander for the first Artemis mission to send astronauts to the surface. Under that original plan, SpaceX has been working on a configuration of its Starship vehicle, known as the Human Landing System, for human lunar missions.

But amid concerns that Starship's development has lagged, NASA now also appears to be considering Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander, an uncrewed version of which is due to head to the lunar surface later in 2026 on a pathfinding mission.

Whichever lander ends up being selected for Artemis 4 would rendezvous with NASA astronauts aboard an Orion vehicle in lunar orbit and then ferry them to the surface. After the astronauts conduct a moon walk and a series of scientific experiments, the lander would then transport them back up to Orion, which would make the journey back to Earth, according to NASA.

Where will a US moon landing take place?

NASA previously identified nine possible landing sites near the moon's largely unexplored south pole for human surface operations.

All the possible locations are further south than any of the Apollo astronauts landed or ventured, according to NASA. There, a permanent shadow is thought to shroud an area abundant with water ice – a valuable resource that could be extracted and used for drinking, breathing and as a source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.

NASA wants to build moon base ahead of Mars missions

The ultimate goal is for NASA to spend the next few years using a series of both crewed and uncrewed lunar landings to build a $20 billion moon base where astronauts could live and work long term.

After the Artemis 5 mission, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has said the agency wants to target a human lunar landing up to twice a year – if not more often.

Once that cadence is established and the infrastructure for a sustainable settlement is in place, NASA will set its sights on humanity's next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA's Artemis 2 mission won't land on the moon. Here's why.

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