Artemis II Has Successfully Launched and Is Heading for the Moon — What Comes Next for the Mission?
As the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket prepared for launch, some members of the Artemis crew offered words of wisdom via NASA livestream:
“This is Victor,” said Victor Glover, the mission’s pilot. “We go there for our families.”
“This is Christina,” said mission specialist Christina Koch. “We’re going to get our teammates.”
“This is Jeremy,” said Jeremy Hansen, a mission specialist from Canada. “We go for all humanity.”
After some delays, Artemis II was successfully launched on April 1, 2026 and humanity returns to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. Thousands of viewers watched from the ground, while millions watched this historic liftoff from a NASA livestream on YouTube.
After the success of Artemis I, an uncrewed lunar mission, Artemis II will fly by the moon, collect data and return to Earth. The resources gained from this mission will help guide Artemis III, where humans will once again set foot on the moon.
What will Artemis II do?
Artemis II will carry four crew members: Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch from the United States, as well as Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). During the approximately 10-day mission, the crew will conduct the first human lunar flyby in more than 50 years, testing the space launch system and various components of the Orion spacecraft, including its maneuvering capabilities, according to NASA.
Other tests include how life support systems will work, how the crew will interact in deep space, and how communications and navigation will work away from Earth.
Learn more: NASA unveils roadmap for permanent lunar base and increased missions to the Moon
What path will Artemis II take?
Upon liftoff, the mission left Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with 8.8 million pounds of thrust, according to NASA. But he didn’t go straight to the moon. Instead, the craft will circle the Earth twice before taking off to fly around the Moon.
The trajectory looks like a complicated figure 8, but it’s important to ensure that all support systems are active, and that the crew tests procedures and conditions for living in deep space.
Once Orion separates from the Intermediate Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), the craft will begin its high Earth orbit and second tour around the planet before beginning its transit to the moon. From there, it will complete the lunar flyby and return home, where it will make a water landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, according to NASA.
Artemis II is a premier mission
In addition to being the first crewed mission to return to the Moon in more than 50 years, Artemis II is one of many firsts. This is the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft, the first time a woman, a person of color and a non-U.S. citizen have traveled beyond low Earth orbit and near the Moon.
What we learn from this mission, and from Artemis missions beyond, could help send the very first person to Mars.
There is more to come from this incredible return to the Moon.
Learn more: How artificial lunar dust is helping us build the first long-term lunar bases
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