Gene Cernan was the last American to walk on the Moon. As he prepared to leave it, he expressed optimism that his colleagues would return soon.

CERNAN: As I take man’s last step from the surface for some time to come, but we believe not too long into the future…

Well, it’s probably been a little longer into the future than Cernan expected, but NASA is preparing to send astronauts back to the Moon. The Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks. It will carry four astronauts to the Moon. They won’t land, or even go into orbit. But it will be the first time anyone has come close to the Moon in more than half a century.

The astronauts will follow a looping path to the Moon. They’ll fly behind it, coming within about 6500 miles of the surface. The Moon’s gravity will sling them back toward Earth. They’ll splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

During the 10-day mission, the astronauts will check out all of the systems on the Orion spacecraft. They’ll also conduct a few experiments, and make some observations of the Moon.

Artemis II has been delayed by several years. Among other problems, during the unmanned Artemis I mission, in 2022, the life support system and heat shield didn’t work as planned.

Astronauts are supposed to land on the Moon during the next mission. Issues with the lander and other problems may delay that until 2028 or beyond – adding to the gap between moonwalks.

Script by Damond Benningfield