What spacecraft carried the Artemis II crew on its journey around the Moon and back to Earth in April 2026?

The vessel that carried the Artemis II crew on their journey around the Moon and back to Earth in April 2026 was the Orion spacecraft. This mission marked a significant milestone as the first crewed flight of NASA's Artemis program, and the first time humans traveled beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo program decades ago. The Orion capsule, named "Integrity" by its four-person crew, was specifically designed to transport astronauts for deep-space exploration, laying the groundwork for future lunar landings and eventual missions to Mars.

Artemis II was a vital test flight, demonstrating the Orion spacecraft's systems, crew operations, and mission procedures in the challenging environment of deep space. The mission saw the crew perform extensive checkouts of the spacecraft, including manual piloting, before embarking on a lunar flyby that took them farther from Earth than any human has traveled in over half a century. The European Service Module, an essential component of Orion, provided critical propulsion, power, and life support throughout the ten-day journey.

The successful completion of the Artemis II mission on April 10, 2026, was a testament to international collaboration and engineering prowess. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen made history as they orbited the Moon, setting a new record for human distance from Earth. Their journey aboard the Orion spacecraft validated key technologies and operational approaches, moving humanity closer to establishing a sustained presence on the Moon and venturing further into our solar system.