Artemis II Launch: First Crewed Lunar Mission in Over 50 Years Set for Liftoff

NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch on April 1, 2026, at 18:24 local time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the first crewed flight to the Moon's vicinity in more than half a century. The four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft consists of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The mission is expected to last approximately ten days, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of California on April 9, 2026. The spacecraft will follow a figure-eight trajectory, reaching the far side of the Moon at a distance of more than 370,000 kilometers from Earth before beginning its return. No lunar landing is planned — the mission's primary purpose is to test the full Artemis system with a crew aboard for the first time, ahead of future surface operations.

The last crewed mission to travel to the Moon's vicinity was Apollo 17 in December 1972, when astronauts last set foot on the lunar surface. Between 1969 and 1972, six Apollo missions successfully landed on the Moon, beginning with Apollo 11, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. No human being has traveled beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17. The Artemis program represents NASA's effort to return humans to the Moon and ultimately establish a sustained presence at the lunar south pole.

Mission carries four historic firsts in one crew The Artemis II crew carries multiple historic distinctions that set it apart from all previous lunar missions. Christina Koch will become the first woman to travel to the lunar environment, while Victor Glover will be the first person of color to fly beyond low Earth orbit. Jeremy Hansen, a colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency since 2009, will be the first non-American to travel to the Moon's vicinity — and notably, Artemis II will be his first spaceflight. Reid Wiseman, born in Baltimore and selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009, previously accumulated more than 165 days in space during Expedition 41 in 2014 and later served as Chief of the Astronaut Office. Victor Glover, a California-born naval aviator and engineer, previously piloted Crew-1, the first operational SpaceX mission to the International Space Station, logging 168 days in space. Christina Koch spent 328 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station across Expeditions 59, 60, and 61, a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at the time, and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.

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Neon orange suits designed for ocean survival The astronauts will wear neon orange Orion Crew Survival System suits during launch and atmospheric reentry, a deliberate departure from the white suits of the Apollo era. The vivid color serves a practical purpose: maximum visibility in any conditions, allowing rescue teams to locate crew members quickly if they must exit the spacecraft prematurely and land in the ocean. According to NASA, the suit is capable of keeping a person alive for six days in the event of a loss of spacecraft pressure, providing sufficient time to return to Earth. The suits also incorporate lighter and more resistant helmets, cooling systems, oxygen supply and carbon dioxide expulsion systems, touch-screen-compatible reinforced gloves, and fireproof boots. The Orion spacecraft itself is described as approximately the size of a van, in which all four crew members will live for the duration of the ten-day mission. On reentry, a parachute system will progressively reduce the capsule's speed from approximately 494 kilometers per hour to around 27 kilometers per hour before splashdown.

Spanish adventurer Jesús Calleja joins NASA's guest list Spanish mountaineer and television presenter Jesús Calleja will attend the launch as a guest of NASA, watching the liftoff from inside the Kennedy Space Center. Calleja, known for hosting the adventure program Volando Voy, announced the invitation through his Instagram profile, describing the experience as a lifelong dream. „We are returning to the Moon after 1972 and they are letting me be on the inside” — Jesús Calleja via 20 minutos He will be accompanied at the launch by Carlos García Galán, described by Calleja as a key NASA engineer currently leading a project to build a base on the Moon, as well as Raúl Torres, chief executive of Spanish aerospace company PLD Space. The mission menu, published by NASA, includes coffee, green tea, mango smoothies, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, butternut squash, and five types of hot sauce, among other items. The Artemis II launch is scheduled to be visible in mainland Spain at 0:24 on April 2, and NASA is streaming the event live.