NASA Artemis II mission launched: Latest updates, key details
In a significant leap towards returning humans to the moon, NASA has officially lifted off the highly anticipated Artemis II mission from @NASAKennedy on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. EDT.
The historic mission propelled four astronauts on a journey around the Moon, paving the way for future landings on the Moon, with the Orion spacecraft placed into Earth’s orbit.
NASA astronauts crew included Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The historic mission marked the crewed lunar mission in over 50 years that humans have visited the moon after Apollo 11 landing, which will take them on a 230,000-mile journey around the lunar body, which served as a testing flight for future deep space missions to the lunar surface.
Trajectory
The mission is currently on a flight path that keeps the spacecraft in Earth’s gravitational influence past the moon, then falls back to the planet after completing the mission.
This path, called a free return trajectory, uses reduced fuel and is less risky than entering a lunar orbit.
Following a day of lift off, the spacecraft is set for a translunar injection, sending the Artemis II crew on their lunar journey.
NASA historic Artemis II moon launch is just days away
The path will take the aboard crew to within about 5,000 miles above the lunar surface. Apollo missions typically the moon under 100 miles or touched down to the surface.
Artemis II mission scientist Barbara Cohen stated, "When they pass by the far side of the moon, it'll look like a basketball held at arm's length. It'll be that kind of view."
