The countdown is officially on at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Today, April 1, 2026, at 6:24 PM ET, NASA is set to launch the Artemis II mission, sending humans toward the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This historic flight marks the first crewed mission under the Artemis program, utilizing the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

The international crew features four seasoned explorers: NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Together, they will embark on a 9.5-day journey that takes them approximately 7,400 kilometers beyond the far side of the Moon. This mission is designed to test the Orion’s life-support systems in the deep-space environment before future crews attempt actual lunar landings.

This event is a major milestone for global space exploration. It is the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. While the crew will not land on the lunar surface during this trip, their successful return will pave the way for Artemis III and NASA’s long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon and eventually reaching Mars.