Back to the moon: Inside NASA's Artemis II mission
More than half a century after astronauts last left the lunar surface, NASA is preparing to send a crew of four back to the moon on a fly-by mission that will sling them around the far side.
The mission is called Artemis II, and if all goes according to plan, it could launch as early as next week. When it does, the astronauts will climb aboard NASA's most powerful rocket and begin a journey that could take them farther into space than humans have ever been before.
Like the missions that preceded Apollo 11, the first moon landing, Artemis II is a test flight, designed to test whether the rocket, life-support systems and crew controls work as designed.
A new era, a familiar path
Artemis II is the second mission in NASA's Artemis program, a series of increasingly ambitious flights aimed at returning humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. Artemis I, an uncrewed mission, successfully flew around the moon in 2022. Artemis II will carry astronauts on its lunar fly-by journey.
The approach closely mirrors NASA's strategy during the Apollo era. Before Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, earlier Apollo missions tested spacecraft systems, navigation, and human endurance in deep space. Missions like Apollo 8 sent astronauts around the moon without landing, proving that the journey itself was possible.
Artemis II is today's equivalent.
"Artemis II is like a test flight," 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker explained, "designed to have the astronauts actually take control of the craft."
The SLS: NASA's most powerful rocket
Whitaker and the 60 Minutes team traveled to Kennedy Space Center to witness the rollout of the Artemis II moon rocket, a four-mile journey from the building where it was assembled to the launch pad.
"It's huge," Whitaker said. "It's a beautiful piece of machinery."
Atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket sits the Orion capsule, in which astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will ride. Together, the SLS and Orion represent the backbone of NASA's next chapter in human spaceflight.
Around the moon, not onto it — yet
After launch, the crew will spend time in low Earth orbit testing Orion's systems before heading toward the moon. They will loop around it in a wide figure-eight trajectory and then return home, never touching the surface, similar to the Apollo 8 mission.
However, the flight path will take them much farther from the moon than Apollo astronauts ever traveled. As Artemis commander Reid Wiseman explained, Apollo crews orbited roughly 60 miles above the lunar surface. Artemis II astronauts will pass between 3,000 and 6,000 miles away — far enough to see the entire moon in a single view.
Depending on the timing of the launch and the moon's location in relation to Earth, the astronauts may also become the most distant humans from Earth in history.
For about 40 minutes on the far side of the moon, the crew will be completely out of contact with Earth.
Science, testing, and awe
This mission isn't about planting flags on the lunar surface, but rather scientific discovery and validation of hardware and procedures.
Astronaut Victor Glover said the crew will be busy recording observations and capturing photographs of the moon, contributing to lunar science along the way.
Asked if there would be time to simply marvel at the view, Wiseman smiled.
"According to our geology team, no," he joked. "We're going to be studying the geology of the moon the entire time, down to the last second. But we are going to have some human moments, for sure."
During a recent simulator run, Wiseman recalled seeing Earth rise over the lunar horizon.
"When Earth rose, it stopped us all in our tracks," he said.
The moment echoes one of the most iconic images in spaceflight history: the Earthrise photograph captured during Apollo 8 in 1968. "Oh, my God," astronaut Bill Anders can be heard saying in archival audio. "Look at that picture over there."
The risks haven't changed
While technology has advanced, the risks of spaceflight remain.
"Going into space is dangerous," said Whitaker, who has covered spaceflight for more than four decades. "These astronauts are sitting on top of a lot of explosives."
Whitaker remembers covering the Challenger and Columbia disasters, tragic reminders that every mission carries risk.
Glover says that reality is not lost on the crew.
"Before I jump in a T-38, I say a prayer," he said. "I say a prayer, and I say, 'I love you,' to my wife and daughters every time."
When Artemis II disappears behind the moon, Glover hopes humanity will pause and think of the crew during those approximately 40 minutes of radio silence.
A steppingstone, not a destination
Just as Apollo's early test flights made Apollo 11 possible, Artemis II is meant to quietly enable what comes next.
With Artemis III, NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon and eventually establish a sustained presence there, using it as a gateway to future missions to Mars.
"I hope they forget all about Artemis II," Christina Koch said. "We talk about our legacy being enabling the future missions, all the way from Artemis III to Artemis 100 to missions to Mars."
Jeremy Hansen added, "Watch what's coming next. It gets pretty extraordinary from here."
Photos and video courtesy of NASA, Blue Origin and Getty Images.
The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and Scott Rosann. It was edited by Scott Rosann and Nelson Ryland.