NASA's Artemis II Mission Blasts Off: Countdown to First Manned Lunar Mission in Over 50 Years Underway

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - April 1, 2026 - NASA has officially kicked off the countdown for Artemis II, the agency's first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo era. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the space agency invited the world to "come watch with us" as the four-astronaut crew lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on an approximately 10-day journey that will send humans farther from Earth than ever before.

The launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC) aboard the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Live coverage is streaming on NASA+, YouTube, and other platforms, with fueling operations already underway.

The Mission: A Lunar Flyby Test Flight

Artemis II is not a landing mission but a critical shakedown cruise. The crew will fly a free-return trajectory: launching into Earth orbit, performing maneuvers to head toward the Moon, looping around its far side at roughly 4,000 miles (6,400 km) above the surface, and returning to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The flight will test Orion's life-support systems with humans aboard for the first time, along with the European Service Module, navigation, and re-entry capabilities.

Historic flight marks return of humans to deep space as four astronauts prepare to orbit the Moon

This paves the way for Artemis III - the planned crewed lunar landing targeted for no earlier than 2028 - and ultimately a sustained human presence on the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars.

Meet the Crew

The international quartet includes: Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA): A veteran astronaut and U.S. Navy test pilot who previously spent 165 days on the International Space Station.

Pilot Victor Glover (NASA): The first Black astronaut to fly to the Moon; he piloted the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission to the ISS.

Mission Specialist Christina Koch (NASA): Record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (328 days); an engineer and physicist.

Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency): A former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot making his first spaceflight.

A New Chapter in Human Spaceflight

No humans have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II will shatter that record, pushing the boundaries of exploration and international cooperation. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has called it "the most important human spaceflight mission in more than half a century."

Teams at Kennedy Space Center rolled the SLS rocket to Launch Pad 39B in recent weeks, and final preparations - including tanking of supercooled propellants - are now in full swing. Weather and technical checks will determine if the rocket lifts off in the first available window tonight.

How to Watch

Full NASA coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. EDT on NASA+. Tune in via the agency's YouTube channel, app, or social media for live views of the historic liftoff. Backup launch opportunities run through early April if needed.

As the world watches, Artemis II represents more than a rocket launch - it's humanity's bold step back to the Moon and toward the stars. Follow @NASA

and @NASAArtemis for real-time updates. Live updates will be available as the mission progresses. Here are brief biographies of the four Artemis II crew members, based on official NASA and Canadian Space Agency information.Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA)Gregory Reid Wiseman, born in 1975 in Baltimore, Maryland, is a U.S. Navy captain, test pilot, and engineer. He earned a B.S. in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

A decorated naval aviator with deployments to the Middle East (including Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom), he flew the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Super Hornet before attending the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009, he served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during Expedition 41 in 2014, logging 165 days in space and conducting two spacewalks.

He previously served as chief of the NASA Astronaut Office (2020–2022). As commander of Artemis II, he will lead humanity's first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.

Pilot Victor Glover (NASA)Victor J. Glover Jr., born in 1976 in Pomona, California, is a U.S. Navy captain, test pilot, and engineer. He holds a B.S. in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University and multiple master's degrees (including in flight test engineering, systems engineering, and military operational art and science).

Glover logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, including combat missions in the F/A-18. He served as a legislative fellow in the U.S. Senate before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 2013. He piloted the historic SpaceX Crew-1 mission (the first operational Crew Dragon flight) to the ISS in 2020–2021, spending 167 days in space as part of Expeditions 64/65 and completing four spacewalks.He will become the first Black astronaut to travel beyond low-Earth orbit on Artemis II.

Mission Specialist Christina Koch (NASA)

Christina Koch

Christina Hammock Koch, born in 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan (raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina), is an electrical engineer and physicist. She earned B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and physics, plus an M.S. in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University.Before becoming an astronaut (selected in 2013), she worked at NASA Goddard on space science instruments, conducted field research in Antarctica (including a winter-over at the South Pole), Greenland, Alaska, and American Samoa, and participated in firefighting and search-and-rescue teams.

In 2019–2020, she set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with 328 days aboard the ISS (Expeditions 59–61), participating in hundreds of experiments and the first all-female spacewalk. She will become the first woman to fly to the Moon on Artemis II.

Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency)Jeremy Roger Hansen, born in 1976 in London, Ontario, is a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, former fighter pilot, and physicist. He earned a B.S. in space science and an M.S. in physics from the Royal Military College of Canada.Selected by the Canadian Space Agency in 2009 (alongside David Saint-Jacques), he trained with NASA's 20th astronaut class. A CF-18 Hornet pilot with NORAD experience, he has supported ISS operations as a CapCom (capsule communicator) in Mission Control and became the first Canadian to lead training for a NASA astronaut class (2017 group).This will be his first spaceflight. On Artemis II, he becomes the first Canadian to venture into deep space and fly around the Moon.

These four astronauts represent a blend of veteran spaceflight experience, engineering expertise, military aviation backgrounds, and international collaboration as NASA returns humans to lunar vicinity for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.