NASA’s Artemis II Moon mission took off from Florida, marking the first crewed flight around the Moon in over 50 years. The mission, part of NASA’s Artemis program, carried four astronauts on the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The launch, which occurred at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, briefly paused at the T-10 minute mark before proceeding. Artemis II aims to showcase various capabilities essential for deep space missions, validating Orion’s life-support systems and enabling astronauts to practice crucial operations for future lunar missions. The crew will venture approximately 7,400 kilometers beyond the Moon’s far side before returning to Earth.
The mission’s re-entry phase is expected to be particularly challenging, with Orion encountering speeds of about 25,000 miles per hour and temperatures reaching around 5,000 degrees as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. During the mission, astronauts will assess spacecraft performance, conduct emergency drills, and capture images of the Moon’s far side. The crew on Artemis II represents significant milestones, including the first woman, the first African-American astronaut, and the first Canadian to journey towards the Moon.
Artemis II serves as the inaugural step in NASA’s broader strategy to establish a continuous human presence on the Moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. Following the Apollo missions that sent astronauts to the Moon between 1968 and 1972, NASA aims to extend its lunar exploration by targeting the Moon’s south pole in the coming years before setting sights on Mars.
