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NASA is set to launch the Artemis II mission in February, marking the first crewed journey to lunar orbit since 1972. The mission will test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule without landing on the moon.

Future missions, Artemis III to V, aim to establish a presence on the moon, including constructing a lunar Gateway and deploying a nuclear reactor. NASA intends to send astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030, competing with China's ambitions to achieve similar goals by the decade's end. The race for lunar exploration and resources continues among the U.S., China, Russia, and India.