NASA's Artemis II mission launched successfully on April 1, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with its Boeing-built core stage, propelled the Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts: NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen.
Standing 322 feet tall and generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the SLS features two solid rocket boosters, each 177 feet tall and producing over 3.6 million pounds of thrust, alongside four RS-25 engines fueled by liquid hydrogen and oxygen chilled to minus 423 and minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. Liftoff marked the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion, and the first human moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Post-launch milestones included solid rocket booster separation at 6:37 p.m., core stage main engine cutoff and separation at 6:43 p.m., transitioning to upper-stage operations. Orion entered high Earth orbit for 24 hours of system checkouts, including life support, manual piloting, and proximity operations with the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. A trans-lunar injection burn will send the crew on a 10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon, reaching 252,000 miles from Earth and 4,700 miles past the lunar farside, shattering the Apollo 13 record.
The mission tests Orion's capabilities in deep space, powered by ESA's European Service Module for propulsion, life support, and power. Astronauts will conduct 10 lunar science objectives, geological observations, and human physiology studies using organ-on-a-chip devices to assess radiation and microgravity effects.