NASA's next moon astronauts underscored the importance of their upcoming Artemis 2 mission despite a turbulent time for the space agency full of budget cuts and workforce reductions.

It could be less than nine months before humanity ventures back to the moon, even if only to fly around it. The people set to make that flight were back on the Space Coast on July 30 to log time with their ride,

NASA is preparing for its April 2026 Artemis II 10-day mission that will send a crew of four around the moon to prepare for future crewed moon landings.