Artemis II set to return humanity to the Moon with launch on Wednesday evening
NASA will launch the Artemis II crewed lunar‑flyby mission from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (22:24 UTC). The Orion CM‑003 capsule, christened Integrity, will ride atop a Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 rocket carrying four astronauts: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The flight marks the first time a crewed spacecraft will travel beyond low‑Earth orbit since Apollo 17’s return in 1972, and it initiates the crewed phase of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program.
After a brief high‑Earth‑orbit checkout, Orion will execute a trans‑lunar injection (TLI) burn that places the vehicle on a 10‑day free‑return trajectory around the Moon. The trajectory will bring the spacecraft within 6,513 km of the lunar far side before swinging back toward Earth, reaching an apogee that sets a new record for the greatest distance traveled by humans from the planet. The SLS core stage will employ four RS‑25 engines—E2047, E2059, E2062 and E2061—paired with solid rocket boosters, delivering the 27‑ton launch vehicle the thrust required for the mission profile. The crew composition includes the first person of color (Glover), the first woman (Koch) and the first non‑American (Hansen) to travel beyond low‑Earth orbit, reflecting the multinational nature of the Artemis effort. Orion’s systems will undergo in‑flight verification during the high‑Earth‑orbit phase, providing data essential for subsequent Artemis missions.
Artemis II follows the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, which validated SLS performance and Orion’s heat‑shield re‑entry capability during a 25‑day mission that included two lunar flybys. NASA plans to use Artemis III in 2027 to demonstrate Orion’s docking capability and test selected Human Landing System (HLS) landers in low‑Earth orbit, paving the way for crewed landings at the Moon’s south pole with Artemis IV and V in 2028. Those missions will aim to achieve the first crewed lunar surface landing since Apollo 17, completing the program’s progression from orbital testing to sustained lunar exploration.
