National Geographic's up-close look at NASA's Artemis missions to return humans to the moon—and pave the way for a spacefaring future. When Artemis II sends a crew on a lunar flyby next year, the mission won’t just return astronauts to the moon’s surface. It could also begin a new era of space exploration.

When the Artemis 2 astronauts launch to the moon next year, they will be accompanied by one of 25 plush toys just named a finalist in a NASA contest.

The U.S. and China are in a sprint toward manned missions to the lunar surface by the end of this decade, with sights on 2029 as a common deadline.