NASA's Artemis II Launches First Crewed Lunar Mission in Over 50 Years
NASA's Artemis II mission successfully launched from Florida, sending four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
NASA's Artemis II mission successfully launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, at 6:35 PM EDT. The mission carries four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—on a 10-day journey around the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The crew will travel on a free-return trajectory, orbiting the Moon without landing, to test the Orion spacecraft's life-support systems and other critical technologies. This mission sets the stage for future lunar landings and aims to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon.
Artemis II also marks several milestones: Glover becomes the first person of color, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The launch follows extensive preparations, including a successful flight readiness review and resolution of technical issues such as helium flow concerns. The mission's success is a significant step toward NASA's goal of returning humans to the lunar surface and eventually conducting missions to Mars.
