![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/space-men-slow-43ef.gif\")
\n\t\tOne small step for man\u2026 again (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tOne small step for man\u2026 again (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
One ticket to the moon<\/a>, please. NASA <\/a>has revealed the exact date that humanity will step foot once again on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n The US<\/a> space agency said yesterday that a crew will set off for our cosmic neighbour \u2018no earlier\u2019 than February 6. <\/p>\n Four astronauts will do a lap around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after 10 days.<\/p>\n Officials admitted, however, that given that everything from the weather<\/a> to rocket performance could stop the mission, it\u2019s more like a day between January 31 and February 14\u00a0<\/p>\n Artemis, NASA\u2019s return-to-the-moon programme, has been plagued by delays, technical hiccups and budget cuts for years. <\/p>\n This has all but denied generations of astronauts <\/a>their chance at walking where Neil Armstrong once did in 1969<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t The last time humans were casually strolling \u2013 or moonwalking, we suppose \u2013 on the moon was for the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. <\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> made bringing American space boots back on the lunar ground a goal during his first administration, signing Artemis in 2017.<\/p>\n Space officials were tasked with working with commercial companies like Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s SpaceX<\/a> to build a lunar-orbiting Gateway outpost.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s first mission, known as Artemis I, involved an un-crewed Orion capsule doing a 1.3million mile lap<\/a> around the moon in 2022.<\/p>\n Unlike\u00a0the Apollo missions, the second Artemis mission won\u2019t actually land on the moon. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, it will be the first to leave Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 53 years.<\/p>\n \t\t It will also be the first time that astronauts launch on top of NASA\u2019s giant Space Launch System rocket and then swing around the Moon inside the Orion crew capsule. <\/p>\n This equipment was one of the main reasons Artemis II was postponed by more than a year, with NASA citing issues with Orion\u2019s life support system.<\/p>\n The Artemis II crew will consist of three NASA astronauts \u2013 Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch \u2013 and one Canadian, Jeremy Hansen.<\/p>\n Astronauts won\u2019t get a chance to set foot on the Moon until Artemis III lands on the Moon\u2019s south pole in 2027.<\/p>\n China<\/a>, meanwhile, plans to do the same by 2030 \u2013 complete with building a nuclear reactor<\/a> to power the country\u2019s research outpost. <\/p>\n What does becoming an astronaut involve?<\/p>\n \t\t A career as an astronaut doesn\u2019t just involve handing over a CV and cover letter to NASA. <\/p>\n Meganne Christian, a reserve astronaut with the European Space Agency,<\/a> told Metro <\/strong>that spacefarers have to undergo rather oddly specific training. <\/p>\n \u2018There\u2019s particular training for sleeping. When you have to sleep on a space station, you put yourself in a sleeping bag that\u2019s stuck on your quarters,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n \u2018You just end up floating there \u2013 once you get used to it, you apparently get a really, really good night\u2019s sleep.\u2019<\/p>\n There\u2019s even a dedicated programme to boldly go\u2026 to the toilet in space.<\/p>\n Your average Earthly toilet makes the most of gravity to dispose of waste, yet astronauts don\u2019t have such a luxury up in the stars.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This means waste could freely float around the place, not only becoming an unhygienic eyesore, but also a threat to sensitive equipment.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s something you do closer to the mission,\u2019 Christian said. \u2018There is training involved as you need to be able to maintain it and fix it if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n \u2018But also just using the toilet, because it is a little different and you have to make sure you\u2026 align yourself very well.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Photograph](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_280768264-b5bd-e1768398415446.jpg\")
\n\t\tBuzz Aldrin was one of the first two humans to land on the moon (Picture: Universal Images Group Editorial)<\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_278201456-d958.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Artemis II crew members, from left, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch (Picture: AP)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_279577848-2d7e.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Moon is nearly 240,000 miles away (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
\nMORE: Inside plans for the first hotel on the moon by 2032 and it will cost you \u00a37,500,000 to get there<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: NASA launches urgent evacuation of the ISS after \u2018serious medical emergency\u2019 in space<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: What is a Wolf Moon and how to see 2026\u2019s first supermoon tonight<\/a><\/p>\n