The Artemis II crew were the first people to visit the Moon in over 50 years, captivating the global public as they brought everyone along with them on their journey. The lunar data collected by the crew and by their Orion spacecraft was in service of both addressing fundamental questions about lunar and Solar System science as well as to set future crewed planetary missions up for success as the team developed the processes needed to maximize science in Artemis. This presentation explores the Artemis II mission’s lunar journey, with an emphasis on the lunar science objectives developed by the mission’s Lunar Science Team as well as the structure, processes, and operational concepts developed to prepare the crew, Flight Control Team, and Lunar Science Team to address these objectives. Artemis II was but the first step in returning human explorers to planetary exploration; this presentation will examine the science data collected from Artemis II while looking to the future of Earth to Deep Space human scientific exploration.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 5, 2026