NASA Launches Artemis II: First Crewed Lunar Mission in Over 50 Years Sets Off

NASA launched the Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026, sending four astronauts toward the Moon for the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 18:35 local time (22:35 GMT). The crew consists of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch — all Americans — alongside Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. The mission marks three simultaneous historic firsts: Victor Glover is the first person of color, Christina Koch is the first woman, and Jeremy Hansen is the first non-American to participate in a lunar mission. The 10-day flight is a lunar flyby with no landing, designed to test life support systems and technology ahead of future Moon landings, and is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.

The last time humans traveled to the vicinity of the Moon was during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. During the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, astronauts had no bathroom on board and used bags to collect waste during lunar journeys. The Artemis program has been marked by years of delays and significant cost overruns, with the Artemis II mission originally scheduled to launch in February before repeated setbacks forced the rocket's return to its hangar for analysis and repairs. The Orion capsule, named Integrity, had never carried humans before this flight, as the preceding Artemis I mission was uncrewed.

Toilet fan failure resolved within hours of launch The first hours in orbit brought two technical incidents, both resolved before the mission's critical translunar injection burn. Shortly after launch, the crew reported a "failure warning" in the Universal Waste Management System, the spacecraft's toilet, specifically in a fan essential for suctioning urine in microgravity. Christina Koch contacted ground teams to confirm the repair procedure and, following instructions from mission control in Houston, restored normal operation of the fan. During the interval, the crew used emergency bags for liquid waste, though the system continued to function for solid waste. NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya reported the resolution at a press conference, confirming the crew had worked closely with mission control to restore normal toilet operation. A separate, brief communication interruption occurred during a satellite handoff but had no impact on the vehicle, according to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. „It was a partial loss of communications for a few minutes, but without any impact on the vehicle” — Jared Isaacman via La Vanguardia Both issues were resolved well ahead of the translunar injection burn scheduled for the early hours of April 2.

Orion completes critical orbital maneuvers before Moon trajectory Following the resolution of the technical incidents, the Orion spacecraft successfully completed a series of key maneuvers to raise its orbit in preparation for the journey to the Moon. The capsule executed a perigee burn and an apogee burn, progressively raising its trajectory from approximately 1,600 kilometers to 40,200 kilometers in a high-altitude elliptical orbit. Victor Glover piloted proximity operations with the upper stage of the rocket, maneuvering Orion away, repositioning it, and observing the stage from different angles to validate sensors, navigation systems, and procedures. The translunar injection burn, described by mission officials as "a point of commitment" after which there is no turning back, was scheduled for approximately 00:35 Spanish peninsular time on April 2. Once executed, the burn would place the spacecraft on a free-return trajectory toward the Moon, with the return to Earth assisted by gravity. The crew will then spend approximately three days traveling to the Moon, complete one orbit of the lunar body, and return to Earth for the Pacific splashdown. „The moon is coming up beautiful and we are heading straight for it” — Reid Wiseman via La Vanguardia

54 (years) — gap since last crewed lunar mission, Apollo 17 in 1972

Artemis II — Key Mission Events: — ; — ; — ; —

Trump praises mission as U.S. dominance, Wiseman's farewell goes viral The launch drew immediate political attention and a wave of public emotion. U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated the crew during the opening of a nationally televised address dedicated primarily to the war in the Middle East, calling them "brave astronauts" and praising the NASA team for the successful launch. „America is not only competing, we are DOMINATING!, and the entire world is watching” — Donald Trump via La Vanguardia Trump had previously set an accelerated pace for the Artemis program with the stated goal of placing footprints on the lunar surface before 2029. ESA Director Josef Aschbacher emphasized that Europe is at the core of the international mission. On a more personal note, a video of Commander Reid Wiseman saying farewell to his two daughters, Ellie and Katherine, went viral on social media before launch. Wiseman, who lost his wife to cancer in 2020 and has raised his daughters while preparing for the mission, made a heart gesture with his hands toward them just before boarding. „I love these two girls very much, and I am boarding that rocket as a very proud father” — Reid Wiseman via 20 Minutos Among the items carried aboard Orion are a piece of fabric from the Wright brothers' plane and the flag from the canceled Apollo 18 mission, which will reach the vicinity of the Moon 54 years after that mission was scrapped.