For the first time since December 1972, human beings are heading to the Moon. NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026, sending four astronauts on a trajectory that will carry them around the far side of the Moon and back to Earth over the course of approximately 10 days.

The crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — launched aboard the Orion spacecraft atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket the agency has ever built. The massive vehicle generated roughly 8.8 million pounds of thrust as it rose from Launch Pad 39B, the same complex that once sent Apollo missions skyward.

A New Generation Returns

While Artemis I completed an uncrewed lunar flyby in late 2022, Artemis II represents a fundamentally different kind of test. With four people aboard, the mission will evaluate life support systems, navigation, communication, and crew operations under real deep-space conditions for the first time.

After reaching orbit, the SLS upper stage fired to push Orion into an elliptical path extending roughly 46,000 miles from Earth. A subsequent translunar injection burn will send the spacecraft toward the Moon, where it will loop behind the far side before using the Moon's gravity to slingshot back toward Earth.

Diverse Crew Makes History

The Artemis II crew carries several historic firsts. Victor Glover will become the first Black astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch, who previously set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, will be the first woman on a lunar trajectory. And Jeremy Hansen becomes the first non-American to fly on a Moon mission, representing the Canadian Space Agency's deepening partnership with NASA.

Testing Orion for the Future

The 10-day flight is primarily a shakedown cruise. Engineers want to confirm that Orion's heat shield can withstand the extreme temperatures of a lunar-return reentry — roughly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit — while protecting the crew inside. The spacecraft's solar arrays, guidance systems, and environmental controls will all be put through their paces in deep space for the first time with astronauts aboard.

"Artemis II is a test flight, and the test has just begun," said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. "Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon's surface with confidence."

Looking Ahead

If all goes well, Artemis III — tentatively planned for 2028 — will attempt the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, using a SpaceX Starship vehicle as the lander. NASA has outlined plans for a permanent lunar base and sees the Moon as a stepping stone toward eventual crewed missions to Mars.

For now, four astronauts are sailing through space on a path no human has traveled in more than half a century — and the world is watching.