Return to the Moon with Artemis, Part II

FAS Astronomers Blog, Volume 34, Number 1.

After the successful flight of Artemis I back in 2022, NASA was set to send astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since 1972. However, it’s taken a little longer than expected. Now they are ready and on the verge of sending the first crewed Artemis mission into space. Four astronauts will ride Artemis II to the Moon and back with a launch in early April 2026 (see below for more information about the launch). We will also update this article with information about the mission as it unfolds (see below).

Artemis II Launch

Track the Artemis II Flight

NASA first reached the Moon with Apollo 8 in December 1968. Back then, three astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, journeyed to the Moon and completed ten orbits before returning to Earth. Many of us remember the Earthrise photo from that mission. The last human spaceflight to the Moon was Apollo 17 in December 1972. On this mission, Gene Cernan and geologist Harrison Schmitt landed and completed three lengthy excursions across the Moon’s surface before leaving the Moon behind on December 14, 1972.

Earthrise. Credit: NASA

In many ways, Artemis II is a repeat of Artemis I. The mission will circle the Moon without landing and then return to the Earth. Artemis I completed a 25-day mission back in November-December 2022. As with the first Artemis flight, this follow up will see NASA’s Block I SLS rocket propel an Orion capsule into space. After an initial check out in Earth orbit, the plan is to follow a “free return trajectory.” The spacecraft will take four days to reach the Moon. Once there, the Orion capsule will fly by the Moon and then let gravity loop it around for an additional four-day return journey back to Earth. The crew will be carried some four to six thousand miles beyond the Moon before swinging back around toward home. Unlike the longer Artemis I flight, this first crewed mission will last just ten days.

According to NASA, the objectives of the Artemis II mission are to fully evaluate the various Artemis systems, and particularly the life support systems with a crew on board. They will also focus on other systems including navigation and communication.

Riding in the Orion spacecraft will be NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

Reid Wiseman, the mission commander, is a veteran Navy pilot from Baltimore. He has degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University. He’s been a NASA astronaut since 2009 and flew on the ISS Expedition 41 mission in 2014.
Victor Glover, the pilot, is a Naval Aviator from California. He flew to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew-1/Expedition 64 mission in 2020-21. He’s been an astronaut since 2013 and holds several advance degrees.
Christina Koch, a mission specialist, has been an astronaut since 2013. Although, a native of Michigan, she lived and attended school in North Carolina obtaining degrees from NC State. She worked on the International Space Station during Expeditions 59, 60, and 61 in 2019 spending 328 days in space.
Jermey Hansen is from Ontario and became an astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. He holds degrees from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.

Tracking the Mission

For more on the Artemis II flight, see NASA websites: Artemis II and Artemis II News and Updates. You should be able to follow the mission on NASA’s YouTube channel. You can also track where Artemis is using NASA’s AROW. In addition, NASA has a video summarizing the entire mission. We will update this section with further news as the mission unfolds.

April 10: Artemis II landed successfully on time.
April 9: Artemis II is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 pm EDT on Friday, April 10. For more on the landing, see Artemis II Landing.
April 7: Artemis II completed its pass behind the Moon and is now heading back to the Earth. For more on the flyby, see Artemis II Moon Flyby.
April 6 afternoon: Artemis II reached its farthest point from the Earth at 252,756 miles.
April 6 01:35 pm EDT: Artemis II passed the previous record set by Apollo 13 and became the farthest humans to travel beyond the Earth (248,655 miles).
April 6 afternoon: Artemis II is approaching the Moon and will soon swing around the far side.
April 6 morning: Artemis II will swing around the far side of the Moon.
April 2 evening: Artemis II initiated a 6 minute Translunar Injection (TLI) burn this evening and is on its way to the Moon.
April 2 morning: Artemis II is now in orbit about the Earth. The solar arrays are deployed and Artemis completed a Perigee Raise Burn to adjust its orbit.

Earth from Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

Moon from Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA.

Far side of the Moon from Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA.

Around the Moon with Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA.

Artemis II, Moon, and Earth. Image Credit: NASA.

Earth beyond the Moon. Image Credit: NASA.

Earthset from Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA.

Solar Eclipse from Artemis II. Image Credit: NASA.

Artemis II splashdown. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Lauch Timeline

The launch of Artemis II is schedule for no earlier than February 6. There appears to be three windows to launch Artemis II: ~~February 6-11~~, ~~March 6-11~~, and April 1-6, 30. All launch times are in the evening EDT. You should be able to follow the launch on NASA’s YouTube channel.

April 1, 2026: Artemis II launched at around 6:30 pm on April 1 and is on its way.
March 31, 2026: Live coverage of the launch begins on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:45 am for the rocket fueling and then again at 12:50 pm up to the launch and throughout the mission on YouTube.
March 20, 2026: Artemis II rolled back out to the launch site with a target April 1 (6:24 pm EDT) launch.
February 26, 2026: Artemis rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to address a helium leak.
February 22, 2026: More issues with the fueling tests have pushed the planned launch off to April.
February 3, 2026: Issues encountered during a fuel test have pushed the planned launch off to March at the earliest.
January 30, 2026: Cold weather has pushed the initial launch window off to February 8.

NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

Artemis II launch. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Future Artemis Missions

NASA hopes to finally return to the Moon’s surface with the next phases of the Artemis program. Artemis III, scheduled for 2027, is now a planned mission to rendezvous and dock in low Earth orbit with one or both of the commercial landers. Artemis IV, scheduled for 2028, will take four astronauts into orbit around the Moon and two of these astronauts down for a landing.

Selected Sources and Further Reading (Artemis II)