NASA's Artemis 2 Crew Makes Time Magazine Cover

After more than half a century away from the moon, humanity is finally going back, and Time magazine is celebrating the four people leading the way.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen grace the cover of Time's special Artemis 2 issue, released just days before their historic launch as early as February 8. The crew will spend 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft, flying farther into space than any human has ever traveled.

Their journey will take them 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon. That shatters the previous distance record set by the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970, who reached 158 miles past the moon during their dramatic survival mission.

The timing mirrors another monumental moment in space history. In 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed flight to orbit the moon, with astronauts Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders paving the way for the moon landing seven months later. Now, 58 years later, Time is honoring another groundbreaking crew with a commemorative cover.

Jeffrey Kluger, who wrote the feature article "Back to the Moon," draws powerful connections between then and now. He points out how certain space missions transcend national pride to become shared human experiences, from John Glenn's orbits in 1962 to Apollo 11's moon landing.

Why This Inspires

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shared side-by-side images of the 1968 and 2026 Time covers, noting that this crew is going farther than any humans in history. The Artemis 2 mission kicks off a bold campaign to establish a permanent lunar base by 2028.

Kluger writes that the mission offers something our world desperately needs right now: a moment of collective hope and wonder. Just as Apollo 8 lifted spirits during the turbulent year of 1968, Artemis 2 arrives when we need inspiration most.

The four astronauts aren't just exploring for themselves. They're flying as representatives of the 8.3 billion people who will never leave Earth, carrying our shared dreams into the cosmic deep.

After decades of waiting, the lunar ledger is finally being reopened with four new names ready to make history.