More than half a century after Apollo 11 changed the course of human history, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sat together and reflected on the mission that took them to the Moon and back.
The first mission to take people to another world took off from Cape Canaveral on July 16, 1969, launching three men 400,000 kilometers atop the largest operational rocket the world has ever known: the Saturn V.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would land on the moon several days later, while Michael Collins orbited in the command module. Together, they forever cemented both the mission and its place in human history.
The Apollo program ended in 1972, but its influence never faded. Lessons learned from the Saturn V launches, lunar navigation, life support systems, and deep space operations still shape modern spacecraft design. Apollo showed that you could reach the Moon. What came next required patience, new technology and a different kind of planning.
The next chapter is now just around the corner.
Artemis and the return to deep space
NASA’s current human spaceflight effort is the Artemis program. Unlike Apollo, Artemis is designed as a long-term architecture rather than a short-term one. The goal is to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and use it as a testing ground for missions deep into the solar system.
The first unmanned test flight, Artemis I, was successfully completed in late 2022, sending the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back safely to Earth. The next step is much more personal.
Artemis II is the next giant test
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed mission beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17. The mission will send four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a roughly ten-day trip around the Moon before returning to Earth.
NASA launched Artemis II to the launch pad on January 17, with the goal of sending four astronauts on a 10-day mission to the moon and returning on February 6, 2026.
The crew includes:
- Reid Wiseman, mission commander
- Victor Glover, pilot
- Christina Koch, Mission Specialist
- Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, mission specialist
Artemis II will not land on the Moon. Its purpose is validation. Life support systems. Communications. Navigation. Heat shield performance. Crew operations in deep space. All that needs to work before humans attempt another moon landing.
And talk about a full-circle moment: Artemis II’s journey to the pad took place aboard NASA’s CT-2 crawler transporter, the same machine that carried Buzz Aldrin’s Saturn V rocket to the launch pad in 1969. More than fifty years apart, the same steel crawler traced the same slow path from the Vehicle Assembly Building into history.
In terms of distance to Earth, Artemis II will take astronauts to a distance no human has traveled in more than half a century.
The road to Mars
Even as Artemis II sets its sights on the Moon, plans to send humans to Mars continue to take shape. NASA’s current schedule puts the first crewed missions to Mars no earlier than the 2030s, although no firm launch date has been set.
That uncertainty reflects the magnitude of the challenge. Before humans can set foot on Mars, NASA must demonstrate:
- Long-lasting life support systems that can operate reliably for years
- Deep space propulsion capable of moving large crews and cargo.
- Entry, descent and landing systems for the thin atmosphere of Mars
- Surface habitats and ascent vehicles for the return trip.
The Artemis missions, and indeed the Moon itself, are the test bed for all of this.
From Apollo to Artemis
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin reflected on Apollo 11, they were looking back at a moment that changed history.
In the coming weeks, a new chapter in the history of space flight will begin. Artemis waits with the same spirit that fueled Apollo and the American heroes who made it possible.
And you can bet AvGeekery will be there to tell the story!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published on July 16, 2017. It was updated on January 20, 2026 with the latest information on NASA’s Artemis program.
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