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April 1, 2026

Artemis II Launched: NASA Crew Back on the Way to the Moon After More Than Half a Century

The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft successfully launched from launch complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 18:35 local time (00:35 Central European time), marking the beginning of the Artemis II mission – the first crewed flight to the Moon since the Apollo program.

Artemis II Launched: NASA Crew Back on the Way to the Moon After More Than Half a Century

TL;DR

  • The Artemis II mission, with the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, has successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center.
  • The mission carries a crew of four astronauts: three from NASA and one from the Canadian Space Agency.
  • The crew will orbit the Moon for about ten days before returning to Earth, testing essential systems for deep space travel.
  • This mission is a precursor to Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the Moon.
  • The launch involved the separation of boosters and other stages as the spacecraft accelerated towards orbit and its lunar trajectory.

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