NASA launches the Artemis II crew for the first manned lunar mission in 50 years
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The Artemis II crew entered the history books Wednesday, blasting off NASA’s Orion spacecraft on a mission to orbit the moon — the first crewed trip beyond low-Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the US, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, boarded the 322-foot Orion spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B on Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before its 6:35 pm launch.
The Artemis II crew is expected to orbit the moon and return, marking the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972.
Although the mission will not reach the lunar surface, it is designed to carry a four-person crew farther from Earth than any crewed mission since the Apollo era.
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NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft set for the Artemis 2 mission is seen at Launch Complex 39B at sunrise at the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (John Raoux/AP Photo)
NASA describes the Orion spacecraft as the most powerful rocket ever built.
Standing at 322 feet tall, the rocket will send a spacecraft and its crew into deep space for the first time, testing critical systems ahead of a proposed future trip to the moon.
Now that the crew is in space, its members are expected to spend several days in space, including a multi-day trip around the far side of the moon before returning to Earth to disperse in the Pacific Ocean.
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Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover attend a reception at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026, ahead of the Artemis II mission launch scheduled for April 1, 2026. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
NASA intended to launch Artemis II in February, but technical problems encountered during the test forced the agency to push it back. Such problems included fuel leaks and helium leaks that required additional repairs to the rocket’s Space Launch System.
Artemis II follows the defunct Artemis I mission and is considered a major step toward future missions, including Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the moon.
NASA previously said the Artemis program is intended to support long-term lunar exploration and lay the groundwork for human missions to Mars.
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Trump congratulates NASA’s Artemis II as astronauts prepare for the first deep space mission beyond Earth orbit since 1972, orbiting the moon. (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump launched the Artemis program during his first term in 2017 as part of a broader campaign to return American astronauts to the moon.
Hours before the rocket’s launch, Trump celebrated the Artemis II mission.
“America is going back to the Moon!,” he said. “America is not just competing, WE RULE, and the whole World is watching. God bless our amazing Astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation that ever lived, the United States of America!”
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House Speaker Mike Johnson also praised the staff and NASA on Wednesday.
“We pray for the safety and success of the Artemis II crew and @NASA as they embark on a mission that will take humanity further into space than we have gone in more than half a century,” he said. “I was honored to welcome these brave pioneers to the State of the Union earlier this year. The American people are watching with pride as our Golden Age reaches new heights!”
