His reassurance of Artemis 2's timeline, which is slated to roll to the launchpad for a liftoff no earlier than Feb. 5, comes amid NASA's decision to cut short an ISS crew rotation due to medical concerns for the first time ever.

For the first time in more than half a century, humans are preparing to leave Earth’s orbit and head near the moon, with NASA’s Artemis 2 mission set to launch in 2026. Decades after the last Apollo astronauts gazed back at our celestial neighbor,

The Artemis II mission, which could launch as early as February, is expected to send four astronauts on a trip to the moon, though they won't land on its surface.

Artemis II was originally scheduled to launch between 2019 and 2021 but delays kept pushing it back. In September last year, Nasa was finally able to say that the SLS rocket was “ready to fly crew”, and in November the Orion capsule was “stacked atop the rocket for a final series of tests”, said New Scientist.

Whether Artemis ultimately fulfills its promise of sustained lunar exploration, or is reshaped by politics, budgets and competition with China, the program's first crewed flight around the moon will mark a definitive turning point. In 2026, humanity isn't just planning to return to lunar space — it's actually going.

The unnamed crew member is stable aboard the International Space Station, officials said, but needs care on Earth.