The Artemis 2 crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — describe their 10-day lunar flyby as a stepping stone, not the headline, in NASA's long-term Moon strategy. NASA is aiming for a Feb. 8 launch from Kennedy Space Center on an SLS rocket, pending a crucial fueling test at Pad 39B. Artemis 2 will be the first human mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 and is intended to enable a lunar landing (Artemis 3) in 2028 and a sustained presence around 2030.
Artemis 2 Crew: ‘We Want To Be A Footnote’ As NASA Eyes Permanent Moon Presence
The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 mission stand outside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a dress rehearsal for launch day on Dec. 20, 2025. From left: Canada's Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman. | Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
The four astronauts assigned to NASA's Artemis 2 mission are framing their role as a crucial step — not the final act — in a decades-long return to the Moon and beyond.
Artemis 2 will carry Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, alongside Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a roughly 10-day crewed flight around the Moon. It will be the first human voyage beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Speaking with Bill Whitaker on CBS' 60 Minutes, Koch said,
"I hope they forget all about Artemis 2. I think that's a little bit extreme, but we talk about our legacy being enabling the future missions, all the way from Artemis 3 to Artemis 100 to missions to Mars."
Wiseman agreed, and Hansen added when reminded that Artemis 2 is the first step, "Yeah, but watch what's coming next. It gets pretty extraordinary from here." The crew emphasize that their mission's value will be measured by how well it enables upcoming lunar landings, surface operations and, ultimately, sustainable exploration.
Launch Outlook and Key Prelaunch Work
NASA is targeting Feb. 8 for the Artemis 2 launch, which will lift off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Hitting that date depends on completing several critical prelaunch milestones, including an SLS fueling test scheduled at KSC's Pad 39B on Feb. 2. If the Feb. 8 date cannot be met, backup launch opportunities exist on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, with additional windows in March and April.
Why Artemis 2 Matters
Artemis 2 is the first crewed mission in NASA's Artemis program, a campaign to return humans to the lunar surface, build a sustained presence on and around the Moon by roughly 2030, and prepare for crewed missions to Mars. If all goes according to plan, Artemis 3 could land astronauts on the Moon in 2028, with subsequent missions supporting lunar infrastructure and a long-term presence.
The CBS piece runs about 13 minutes on the 60 Minutes YouTube channel; a separate roughly seven-minute "60 Minutes Overtime" segment includes the crew's discussion about legacy and future missions.
What to watch next: completion of the Pad 39B fueling test, final prelaunch checkouts, and official NASA go/no-go announcements for the February launch window.
Help us improve.
