The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission went into quarantine on Jan. 23, keeping everything on track for a possible launch in early February.

The four Nasa astronauts of the Artemis II crew pose in front of an Orion simulator on 23 January at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (Nasa) Four astronauts have entered quarantine ahead of the first mission around the Moon in more than 50 years.

With the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft already at Launch Pad 39B, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission entered quarantine on Friday. Referred to as the 'health stabilization program,' it begins about 14 days prior to launch and ensures that astronauts are not exposed to any illnesses that could delay or compromise their mission,

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission will send the first crewed spacecraft back to the Moon in over 50 years. As the Orion spacecraft makes its 10-day journey to the Moon and back, a group of volunteers on the ground will help track the crewed capsule on its journey into deep space using all kinds of equipment.

As NASA gears up to send four astronauts on a crewed flight around the moon in the imminent Artemis II mission, Axiom Space is carefully preparing its AxEMU spacesuit for the highly anticipated endeavor that will follow.

The space sector will be in the spotlight next month as the launch window for Artemis II opens up. The launch, which will be the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, will be a roughly 10‑day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.