CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In a blast of orange fire and a tower of white vapor, a new chapter in human exploration began on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. At 6:35 p.m. Eastern Time, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket roared to life from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, sending four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon .
For the first time in more than half a century, humans have left Earth’s orbit. The last time astronauts ventured this far was the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. This time, however, the mission is not just a flag-planting sprint, but a long-term campaign to learn to live and work in deep space.
"This is your Apollo," NASA science mission chief Nicky Fox said before the launch, addressing a generation that has only seen lunar exploration in history books .
A Crew for the Ages
The Artemis II crew represents a significant shift from the Apollo era, embodying a modern, collaborative approach to space exploration.
The team consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist) from the Canadian Space Agency .
Together, they are making history in multiple dimensions. Koch is set to become the first woman to venture on a lunar trajectory, while Glover is the first person of color to do so. Hansen’s presence marks the first non-American to leave Earth’s orbit on a U.S. mission, solidifying international partnership as a cornerstone of the Artemis program .
Minutes after liftoff, as the rocket’s upper stage pushed them toward the Moon, Hansen radioed to mission control in Houston: "This is Jeremy, we are going for all humanity" .
The Machine: SLS and Orion
The scale of the mission is staggering. The SLS rocket, towering 322 feet (98 meters) tall—roughly the height of Big Ben—produced 8.8 million pounds of thrust to escape Earth’s gravity . It is currently the most powerful rocket ever built, hauling the Orion capsule, named "Integrity" by the crew, into the cosmos .
While the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 tested the heat shield and basic systems, Artemis II is the first true test of the human-rated hardware. The crew is actively checking the life-support systems, testing the manual handling qualities of the capsule, and troubleshooting the first minor issues of deep-space travel, including a brief communications disruption early in the flight and a toilet malfunction .
The Journey: Farther Than Ever Before
Unlike the immediate descent to the lunar surface taken by Apollo missions, Artemis II is a "shakedown" cruise. After reaching a high Earth orbit, the crew performed a critical Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) burn on Thursday, April 2. This six-minute engine firing committed them to a "free-return trajectory"—using the Moon's gravity to slingshot them back to Earth without needing engine power to return .
"They did a terrific job," said Howard Hu, who oversees the Orion spacecraft, as the astronauts began their coast toward the Moon .
The crew will fly about 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers) beyond the far side of the Moon. At their farthest point, they will be approximately 252,000 miles (406,000 km) from Earth, surpassing the record set by the troubled Apollo 13 mission in 1970 and setting a new distance record for human spaceflight .
The Big Picture: A Moon Base and Mars
While the views of the lunar surface—particularly the shadowed craters of the far side—will be breathtaking, the stakes for NASA are existential. Artemis II is the bridge to the future.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, appointed by President Donald Trump, made it clear this is not a repeat of the past. "Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission," Isaacman said. "It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead" .
The mission is the critical first crewed step in a complex roadmap. Under the revised timeline, Artemis III will test systems in orbit in 2027, leading to Artemis IV in 2028, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar South Pole for the first time .
That landing will be a race against time and rivals. China has announced its intention to land its own astronauts on the Moon by 2030, adding a geopolitical undercurrent to the mission . To win that race, NASA is relying on private industry; Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are both racing to develop the human landing systems that will take the next crew down to the dusty surface .
A Long Time Coming
The road to this launch was paved with frustration. Originally scheduled for February, the mission was delayed by a stubborn hydrogen fuel leak that forced NASA to roll the massive rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs .
But on Wednesday, the skies cleared and the technology held.
As the astronauts continue their voyage—set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 11—they are testing the limits of human endurance and engineering. They will spend their days conducting science experiments, exercising to combat muscle loss, and gazing out the window at a Moon their generation has only ever seen in photographs.
"We are getting just a beautiful view of the dark side of the Earth right now, lit by the Moon," Hansen reported during the flight. "Phenomenal" .
For the first time in 50 years, humanity is back on the lunar highway. This time, the goal is to stay there.
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