Live Mission Clock · SLS / Orion · Artemis Program

Artemis
II

Humanity's Return to the Moon

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T‑0 · April 1, 2026 · 6:24 PM ET · Kennedy Space Center, Florida
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Mission Crew

Four Humans.
Three Historic Firsts.

RW
Reid Wiseman
Commander
NASA
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Reid Wiseman
Commander · U.S. Navy Test Pilot
Prior missionsExp. 41 (ISS, 2014)
Days in space165 days
HometownBaltimore, MD
BackgroundNaval Aviator / Test Pilot
VG
Victor Glover
Pilot
NASA
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Victor Glover
Pilot · U.S. Navy Pilot
Prior missionsCrew Dragon (2020–21)
Days in space168 days
HometownPomona, CA
BackgroundNavy Pilot / Test Pilot
★ Historic First First Black person to travel to the Moon
CK
Christina Koch
Mission Specialist
NASA
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Christina Koch
Mission Specialist
Days in space328 days (2019–20)
ISS recordLongest single female flight
HometownGrand Rapids, MI
★ Historic First First woman to travel to the Moon
JH
Jeremy Hansen
Mission Specialist
CSA
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Jeremy Hansen
Mission Spec. · RCAF Fighter Pilot
Prior missionsFirst spaceflight
AgencyCanadian Space Agency
HometownLondon, Ontario
BackgroundRCAF Colonel / Fighter Pilot
★ Historic First First Canadian to travel to the Moon

Scale Comparison

The Most Powerful
Rocket Ever Built

111.3 m
SLS
Space Launch System
2.6M kg · 8.8M lbs thrust
39,000,000 N at liftoff
110.6 m
Saturn V
Apollo Moon rocket
2.97M kg fueled
35,100,000 N thrust
93 m
Statue of
Liberty
New York Harbor
305 ft (pedestal + torch)
Completed 1886
56.1 m
Space
Shuttle
STS stack height
Retired July 2011
135 total missions

Flight Path

The 10‑Day Journey

Earth Moon T+0 Launch · KSC T+2 hr HEO · 71,656 km T+1 day TLI Burn T+4 days Lunar Flyby 6,400–9,700 km T+5d · Far side blackout T+9 days Splashdown · Pacific
Maximum Distance
>400,171 km
Surpassing Apollo 13's crewed record
Closest Lunar Approach
6,400 km
Above the lunar surface
High Earth Orbit
71,656 km
Apogee at T+2 hours post-launch
Trajectory Type
Free-Return
Moon gravity slingshots crew home

53 Years Between Flights

From Apollo to Artemis

Dec 1972
Apollo 17
Last humans on the Moon. Cernan & Schmitt spend 75 hours on the surface.
Apr 1981
Shuttle Era Begins
STS-1: Columbia first flight. Low Earth orbit becomes the focus for three decades.
Nov 1998
ISS Construction
Zarya module launches. International Space Station begins a 13-year assembly.
Feb 2010
Constellation Cancelled
Obama administration cancels the Ares/Orion program to return to the Moon.
Jul 2011
Shuttle Retirement
STS-135 Atlantis is the final flight. 135 missions, 30 years, era ends.
Dec 2017
Artemis Announced
Space Policy Directive 1: Return Americans to the Moon "and eventually Mars."
Nov 2022
Artemis I
Uncrewed Orion flies 25-day mission: 1.4M miles, deep retrograde lunar orbit.
Apr 2026
Artemis II
First crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17. You are here. The gap ends.
← drag to explore →

Mission Data

By the Numbers

0
Since last crewed
lunar mission (Apollo 17)
0
Total mission duration
0
Maximum distance from Earth
(breaks Apollo 13 crewed record)
0
Historic human milestones
achieved on one flight
0
Astronauts aboard Orion
spacecraft
0
SLS thrust at liftoff
(8.8 million lbs of force)
0
Height of the Space
Launch System rocket
0
Closest approach
to the lunar surface

Artemis Roadmap

What Comes Next

Artemis III
First Lunar Landing Since 1972
Target: 2027
First crewed landing on the lunar surface in over five decades. A woman and a man will walk on the Moon's south polar region, near permanently shadowed craters that may hold ancient ice.
Artemis IV
South Pole Crew
Target: 2028
Second crewed surface landing at the lunar south pole. Extended scientific exploration with longer surface stays, targeting the permanently shadowed regions where water ice may be abundant.
Gateway Station
Lunar Orbit Habitat
Construction: 2025–2030
A permanent crewed outpost in near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. Gateway serves as a staging point for all future surface missions and as a stepping stone toward crewed Mars expeditions.
Watch the Launch Live
NASA TV · Free worldwide broadcast · No registration required
April 1, 2026 · 6:24 PM ET