Artemis II’s Moon-bound Ride: Inside Orion, SLS and the Crew

NASA’s Artemis II episode of NASA’s Curious Universe previews the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years, detailing the Orion spacecraft’s life-support, hygiene, and seating layout plus the astronauts’ crew identity “Integrity.” It also dives into the Space Launch System rocket—its powerful solid boosters, core stage engines, and onboard flight computers—and explains how NASA uses extensive simulations and human-in-the-loop testing to safeguard the four-astronaut crew (Glover, Wiseman, Koch, Hansen) as they loop around the Moon and return to Earth, building on Artemis I lessons for a sustained lunar presence.