The first crewed spaceflight of NASA’s Artemis program will break records, achieve historic firsts, and pave the way for America’s return to the Moon.

NASA began demolishing part of its own history over the weekend. Crews at the Marshall Space Flight Center are removing the Propulsion and Structural Test Facility and the Dynamic Test Facilities. These structures prepared the engines for the space shuttle and the Apollo moon missions.

Apollo 13's record distance from Earth has stood for over half a century. Can Artemis 2 launch in time to break it?

On Christmas Eve 1968, the Earth received a message from astronauts on a mission like no other - the first around the moon. NASA will return in 2026. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The last time a crew of Americans rode a rocket toward the Moon, the country was reeling from assassinations, riots, and a grinding war. Apollo 8’s Christmas flight in 1968 did not fix any of that, but it briefly reset the national mood and reframed what the United States could still accomplish.