‌And if the trip is successful, it could see them launch another mission the following year to actually land on the Moon. Boffins want to relaunch the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface. ‌Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the rocket built to carry astronauts, the Space Launch System (SLS), is "pretty much stacked and ready to go." Article continues belowThe first Artemis mission in November 2022 lasted 25 days and sent an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon before safely re-entering Earth's atmosphere. The Artemis II launch will see four astronauts go on a ten-day round trip to the Moon and back to the Earth.