"Orion Test Drive on Artemis II: Paving the Way for Future NASA Missions"

NASA's Artemis II mission will feature the first test drive of the Orion spacecraft by astronauts, evaluating its manual handling qualities through a proximity operations demonstration using the detached upper stage of the SLS rocket. The crew will command Orion through a series of maneuvers, including a backflip and fine handling checks, to reduce risk for future missions involving rendezvous and docking with other spacecraft. The mission aims to test foundational human deep space exploration capabilities and pave the way for lunar surface missions.