The first human mission beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years is underway with an April 1 launch of four astronauts on a flight around the moon. The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B here at 6:35 p.m. Eastern on the Artemis 2 mission. After a normal ascent, the SLS upper stage and Orion spacecraft separated from the core stage about eight minutes later in a low transfer orbit.
“It was an amazing ride uphill,” Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman said in a transmission from Orion about three hours after launch. During the countdown controllers reported an issue with the rocket’s flight termination system and, later, with one of the batteries in the launch abort system. Both issues were resolved before the opening of the launch window. Controllers also addressed a brief loss of telemetry from the vehicle. On board the Orion spacecraft, called Integrity by its crew, are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman is the commander of Artemis 2 and Glover the pilot, with Koch and Hansen serving as mission specialists.
The upper stage, called the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage or ICPS, performed a burn of its RL10 engine 49 minutes after liftoff to raise its perigee to 185 kilometers, ensuring it is in a stable orbit. A second burn about an hour later raised its apogee to more than 70,000 kilometers.

Artemis II launched successfully lifted off at precisely 6:35 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B, marking NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission carries four astronauts—NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a ten-day journey around the Moon aboard the Orion Spacecraft, propelled by the Space Launch System rocket. The launch generated over 8.8 million pounds of thrust, reminiscent of the Saturn V launches during the Apollo era, with crowds gathering to witness this historic return to lunar exploration.

The mission’s early hours have proceeded smoothly, with Orion conducting a perigee raise maneuver approximately 49 minutes after liftoff to establish a stable low Earth orbit. The crew will spend about a day orbiting Earth as a precautionary measure, remaining relatively close in case of emergency before beginning their trans-lunar injection. Unlike Apollo 8’s 1968 mission, which became the first crewed mission to reach the Moon and produced the iconic “Earthrise” photograph that inspired the environmental movement, Artemis II builds on this legacy with modern technology and international cooperation. The Artemis II crew even brought along “Rise,” a plush moon mascot designed to evoke the famous Apollo 8 Earthrise image.

Artemis II represents a significant step toward establishing a sustained lunar presence, contrasting with Apollo’s “flags-and-footprints” approach. The mission will take the crew farther from Earth than any humans have ventured before, potentially breaking Apollo 13’s distance record of approximately 248,655 miles. Apollo 8 paved the way for lunar landings with its pioneering flight around the Moon. Apollo 8 became the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. The crucial engine burn to enter lunar orbit, known as Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), occurred at 4:59 AM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on that date. Artemis II serves as a critical shakedown mission for the Orion Spacecraft, testing systems needed for future lunar landings planned under the Artemis program. The crew will experience about 30 minutes of communication blackout when passing behind the far side of the Moon, a familiar challenge from the Apollo era but now tackled with 21st-century technology.
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