NASA is preparing for the April 1, 2026, launch of Artemis II, a pivotal mission set to send a crew of four astronauts on a lunar flyby. This mission marks the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, representing a significant step towards establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
The Artemis II crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The 10-day mission will send the crew on a trajectory that brings them within approximately 6,400 miles (10,300 km) of the lunar surface. This flight will be the first crewed deep-space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Several milestones will be achieved during the Artemis II mission. Victor Glover will become the first person of color to travel to the Moon’s vicinity, while Christina Koch will be the first woman to do so. Jeremy Hansen will be the first non-U.S. Citizen to venture beyond Earth orbit and approach the Moon. The mission is expected to reach a peak speed of roughly 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h) and travel approximately 5,000 miles (8,000 km) beyond the Moon.
The launch is scheduled for no earlier than April 1, 2026, at 6:24 pm EDT from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Upon completion of the mission, the crew will return to Earth and be recovered by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Ocean around April 10, 2026.
Artemis II builds upon the success of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, and is designed to demonstrate the capabilities needed for future deep space exploration. The Orion spacecraft, developed by Lockheed Martin, and the European Service Module (ESM-2), built by Airbus, will be critical components of the mission. This mission represents a significant investment in human spaceflight and a renewed focus on lunar exploration, potentially opening new avenues for scientific discovery and technological advancement.
NASA is closely monitoring the Sun to ensure the safety of the Artemis II astronauts, and recently completed a rollout of the rocket, with the crew now in quarantine. More information about the mission, the crew, and the spacecraft can be found on NASA’s Artemis II mission page.
