Artemis II: NASA sends astronauts to the moon for the second time

More than half a century after the final Apollo mission, humanity has officially returned to deep space. NASA’s Artemis II mission is currently cruising toward the moon, with its four-person crew passing the halfway mark on April 4, 2026. The mission, which launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on April 1, represents the first time humans have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit since 1972.

The crew - Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen - is currently aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is traveling at speeds exceeding 2,000 mph as it nears the lunar gravity well.

A mission of firsts and records

While Artemis II is a flyby mission rather than a landing, it is already shattering long-standing records. By the time the crew loops around the far side of the moon on Monday, April 6, they will have traveled further from Earth than any human being in history, surpassing the 248,655-mile record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

The mission is also a landmark for representation in space exploration: Christina Koch is the first woman to fly into cislunar space, Victor Glover is the first person of color to embark on a lunar mission, and Jeremy Hansen is the first non-American to leave Earth's orbit for the moon.

"A beautiful sight"

During a status update shared by NASA on Saturday, the crew expressed awe as Earth began to shrink into a "marble" and the moon loomed larger in the docking hatch.

"We all had a collective expression of joy... We can see the Moon out of the docking hatch right now. It's a beautiful sight," said Mission Specialist Christina Koch.

The crew has spent the first four days of the flight conducting critical "housekeeping" tasks, including testing the Orion’s life-support systems, practicing medical emergency drills (including CPR in microgravity), and verifying deep-space communication links that will be vital for the Artemis IV landing mission currently slated for 2028.

Overcoming technical hurdles

The path to launch was not without drama. The mission faced years of delays and billions in cost overruns, primarily due to concerns over the Orion heat shield. Engineers discovered that the shield lost more material than expected during the uncrewed Artemis I reentry in 2022.

To mitigate the risk for the Artemis II crew, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman approved a modified reentry trajectory that reduces the thermal load on the spacecraft during its high-speed return to Earth’s atmosphere.

The road ahead

Following the lunar flyby on April 6, where the spacecraft will pass within 4,700 miles of the lunar surface, Orion will use the moon’s gravity as a "slingshot" to begin its journey home. The mission is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.6. Bus

Artemis II: NASA sends astronauts to the moon for the second time

More than half a century after the final Apollo mission, humanity has officially returned to deep space. NASA’s Artemis II mission is currently cruising toward the moon, with its four-person crew passing the halfway mark on April 4, 2026. The mission, which launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on April 1, represents the first time humans have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit since 1972.

Editorial credit: Tada Images / Shutterstock

The crew - Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen - is currently aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is traveling at speeds exceeding 2,000 mph as it nears the lunar gravity well.

A mission of firsts and records

While Artemis II is a flyby mission rather than a landing, it is already shattering long-standing records. By the time the crew loops around the far side of the moon on Monday, April 6, they will have traveled further from Earth than any human being in history, surpassing the 248,655-mile record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

The mission is also a landmark for representation in space exploration: Christina Koch is the first woman to fly into cislunar space, Victor Glover is the first person of color to embark on a lunar mission, and Jeremy Hansen is the first non-American to leave Earth's orbit for the moon.

"A beautiful sight"

During a status update shared by NASA on Saturday, the crew expressed awe as Earth began to shrink into a "marble" and the moon loomed larger in the docking hatch.

"We all had a collective expression of joy... We can see the Moon out of the docking hatch right now. It's a beautiful sight," said Mission Specialist Christina Koch.

The crew has spent the first four days of the flight conducting critical "housekeeping" tasks, including testing the Orion’s life-support systems, practicing medical emergency drills (including CPR in microgravity), and verifying deep-space communication links that will be vital for the Artemis IV landing mission currently slated for 2028.

Overcoming technical hurdles

The path to launch was not without drama. The mission faced years of delays and billions in cost overruns, primarily due to concerns over the Orion heat shield. Engineers discovered that the shield lost more material than expected during the uncrewed Artemis I reentry in 2022.

To mitigate the risk for the Artemis II crew, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman approved a modified reentry trajectory that reduces the thermal load on the spacecraft during its high-speed return to Earth’s atmosphere.

The road ahead

Following the lunar flyby on April 6, where the spacecraft will pass within 4,700 miles of the lunar surface, Orion will use the moon’s gravity as a "slingshot" to begin its journey home. The mission is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.