Wen di Nasa Moon mission go launch, who be di Artemis II crew?

Nasa fit launch first crew mission for more dan 50 years as soon as for di first week of February.

Di Artemis II mission wey go last for about 10 days, fit carry di astronauts further into space pass wetin anybody don see bifor.

Dis dey prepare to set di stage for eventual human landing for di lunar surface for di first time since di Apollo missions for di 1960s and 70s.

Wen dem go launch di Artemis II?

Nasa now dey expected to begin to roll out dia ogbonge Space Launch System (SLS) Moon rocket and Orion Space Capsule from di Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to dia launch pad for Saturday 17 January.

Di four-mile journey for di crawler-transporter-2 go take up to 12 hours.

If dem reach dia, engineers go begin series of launch pad preparation, wey include di fact say dem go connect di ground support equipment such as electrical lines, fuel environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant feeds.

For di end of January, Nasa go conduct wetin dem describe as wet dress rehearsal wey be prelaunch test to fuel di rocket.

If wahala happun at any point, Nasa go roll back SLS and Orion to di Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work ahead of di launch.

But if all di systems work well, dem fit launch am for 6 February.

As di rocket dey ready, di Moon gatz be for di right place too, na so dem select oda successive launch windows.

For real life practice, dis mean say dem go need one week at di beginning of each month wen dem point di rocket for di right direction followed by three weeks wia dem no go launch any oda opportunities.

Di launch opportunities be:

Who be di Artemis II crew and wetin dem go dey do?

Di Artemis II crew wey involve four pipo dey include di Nasa commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission sabi pesin Christina Koch.

Anoda mission sabi pesin, Jeremy Hansen of di Canadian Space Agency, go also dey on board.

Di mission dey involve di first crew flight of SLS and Orion.

Once dem don land safely for orbit, di astronauts go now test di Orion spacecraft handles. Dis dey involve to manually fly di capsule for Earth orbit to practise steering and lining up di spacecraft for future Moon landings.

Dem now go comot to one place wey be thousands of kilometers far from di Moon to check di Orion life‑support, propulsion, power and navigation systems.

Di crew go also act like dem be medical test subjects, wey dey send data and imagery back from deep space.

Dem go work inside small cabin wey no get plenty weight. Radiation levels go be higher than di one wey dey di International Space Station, wey be safe for di low‑Earth orbit.

Once dem return to Earth, di astronauts go experience some wahala thru di atmosphere and wetin dem call splashdown off di west coast of di US,for di Pacific.

Artemis II go land on di Moon?

Dem no go land for di moon. Dis mission na to lay di ground for di lunar landing by astronauts for di Artemis III mission.

Nasa tok say di launch of Artemis III go happun "no earlier dan" 2027. However, sabi pipo dey believe say e fit happun for 2028, wey be di earliest date.

Dem no make di final choice of di spacecraft wey go carry di crew down to di lunar surface yet. E go either be SpaceX's Starship lander or one craft designed by Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

Di fresh spacesuits wey US company Axiom don make, also no dey ready.

When Artemis III finally don fly, di astronauts go dey move to di Moon's south pole.

Afta dis, di aim be make sure pipo dey for di moon.

Artemis IV and V go begin to build Gateway, one small space station around di Moon. Dat go dey followed by more landing on top di Moon, extra sections wey dem dey add to Gateway, and new robotic rovers wey dey operate for di surface.

More kontris go dey involved to make sure pipo go fit stay and work around di moon for long time.

When be di last Moon mission?

Di last crew for di Moon mission be Apollo 17, wey bin land for December 1972 and dem return to Earth later dat month.

In all, 24 astronauts don travel to di Moon wia 12 of dem don waka on di surface, all dis happun during di Apollo programme.

America first go di moon for di 1960s, to beat di Soviet Union to show say dem get power and authority for di geopolitical and technological space.

Di Artemis programme don grow out of di desire to return humans to di Moon, but dis time for longer presence wey dem don build around new technology and commercial partnerships.

Oda kontris dey plan to send astronauts to di Moon?

Many oda kontris get di dream to carry pipo to go to di Moon for di 2030s.​

Astronauts from Europe make set to join later Artemis missions and Japan don already book dia seats.

China also dey build dia own craft, wey dey target dia first landing near di Moon south pole by 2030.

Russia kontinu to dey tok about flying cosmonauts to di surface and building a small base sometime between about 2030 and 2035.

However, sanctions, funding pressure and technical wahala mean say di timetable dey highly optimistic.

India don also show ambition say one day dem go see dia own astronauts wey dey waka on di Moon.

Following di success of Chandrayaan 3 wey land near di lunar south pole for August 2023, India's space agency set dia goal to send astronauts to di Moon by about 2040.

Dis go be part of di push to move dia human spaceflight programme beyond low Earth orbit.

Additional reporting by Kevin Church.