Artemis II

NASA is making a return to lunar space. For the first time since 1972’s Apollo 17, a manned spaceflight will exit low earth orbit. Today’s Artemis II mission, scheduled for 1824 EDT, will fly around the moon.

Launching from Kennedy Space Center, the mission will be sending four astronauts on a 10-day, crewed flyby around the Moon. The mission, utilizing the SLS rocket and Orion capsule, will test life support systems, paving the way for future lunar landings.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist) will be aboard.

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The mission will involve a “free return” trajectory, looping behind the Moon and setting a record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, potentially surpassing 248,655 miles. The crew will spend 24 hours in Earth orbit before conducting a “trans-lunar injection” to head towards the Moon, with the mission concluding with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.

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