On April 1, 2026, NASA’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket roared to life from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, lifting off at 6:35 p.m. EDT. Aboard the Orion spacecraft were the four astronauts of Artemis II—the first crewed mission to venture beyond low-Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
The international crew—NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, NASA Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen—began a 10-day journey that will carry them on a free-return trajectory around the Moon. Flying thousands of miles beyond the lunar far side, the mission is testing Orion’s life-support systems, navigation, and re-entry capabilities in deep space. No landing is planned; this flight is the critical dress rehearsal for future crewed lunar landings.
Artemis II marks a historic milestone: the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that humans have left Earth’s immediate vicinity for the Moon. The successful launch, watched live by millions worldwide, signals the dawn of NASA’s Artemis program and its goal of sustainable human presence on the Moon—paving the way for Artemis III’s surface mission and, eventually, crewed voyages to Mars.
As the crew hurtles toward the Moon, they carry with them the hopes of a new generation of explorers. Their safe return will open the next chapter in humanity’s greatest adventure.
In the lead-up to the Artemis II launch, NASA astronauts spent two years training at Johnson Space Center in Houston. This included working with a replica of the Orion capsule they’ll inhabit on their 10-day journey around the moon.
https://t.co/cUIr7Ql5LL pic.twitter.com/j8rMuAtAgG
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) April 1, 2026
BREAKING: Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin just confirmed: The crew is safe, the spacecraft is performing as planned, and America is BACK IN THE BUSINESS of sending astronauts to the moon.
“After a brief 54-year intermission, NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to… pic.twitter.com/fzTXeqiTxE
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 2, 2026
SOURCES:
Artemis II Launch Day Updates – NASA
Artemis II: NASA’s First Crewed Lunar Flyby in 50 Years – NASA
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