Artemis II launches astronauts around the moon in first deep space mission since Apollo

The Artemis II unit launched into the past books Wednesday, blasting disconnected aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft connected a ngo astir the satellite — the archetypal crewed travel beyond low-Earth orbit successful much than 50 years.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the U.S., and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, boarded the 322-foot Orion spacecraft astatine Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B connected Wednesday afternoon, conscionable hours earlier launching astatine [insert clip rocket lifted off].

The Artemis II unit is expected to question astir the satellite and back, marking the archetypal crewed ngo beyond debased Earth orbit since 1972.

Although the ngo volition not onshore connected the lunar surface, it is designed to transportation the four-person unit farther from Earth than immoderate crewed ngo since the Apollo era.

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NASA's Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft acceptable for the Artemis 2 ngo is seen connected Launch Complex 39B astatine sunrise astatine the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, successful Cape Canaveral, Fla. (John Raoux/AP Photo)

NASA describes the Orion spacecraft arsenic the astir almighty motorboat strategy rocket it has ever built.

Standing 322 feet tall, the rocket volition nonstop the spacecraft and its unit into heavy abstraction for the archetypal time, investigating captious systems up of projected aboriginal lunar landing missions.

Now that the unit is successful space, its members are expected to walk respective days successful space, including a multi-day travel astir the acold broadside of the satellite earlier returning to Earth for a planned splashdown successful the Pacific Ocean.

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Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover be a invited ceremonial astatine Kennedy Space Center successful Florida connected March 27, 2026, up of the Artemis II ngo motorboat scheduled for April 1, 2026. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)

NASA intended to motorboat Artemis II successful February, but method issues discovered during investigating forced the bureau to propulsion it back. Such issues included substance and helium leaks that required further repairs to the Space Launch System rocket.

Artemis II follows the uncrewed Artemis I trial formation and is considered a large measurement toward aboriginal missions, including Artemis III, which aims to onshore astronauts connected the moon.

NASA said antecedently that the Artemis programme is intended to enactment semipermanent lunar exploration and laic the groundwork for quality missions to Mars.

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Trump hails NASA’s Artemis II arsenic astronauts hole for archetypal heavy abstraction ngo beyond Earth orbit since 1972, orbiting the moon. (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump established the Artemis programme during his archetypal word successful 2017 arsenic portion of a broader propulsion to instrumentality American astronauts to the moon.

Hours earlier the rocket launch, Trump celebrated the Artemis II mission.

"America is going backmost to the Moon!," helium said. "America doesn’t conscionable compete, we DOMINATE, and the full World is watching. God bless our unthinkable Astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation ever to exist, the United States of America!"

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House Speaker Mike Johnson besides praised the unit and NASA connected Wednesday.

"Praying for the information and occurrence of the Artemis II unit and @NASA arsenic they undertake a ngo that volition transportation humanity farther into abstraction than we person gone successful implicit fractional a century," helium said. "I had the privilege of hosting these courageous pioneers astatine the State of the Union earlier this year. Americans are watching proudly arsenic our Golden Age reaches caller heights!"