And we have liftoff! The Artemis II rocket has roared into space, carrying NASA's first crewed mission to the Moon in over half a century.
The four-person crew – commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – lifted off at 6:35pm local time (11:35pm in the UK) from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Their 10-day journey will take them around the far side of the Moon and back. While they won't touch down on the lunar surface this time, the mission is a critical dress rehearsal, testing the Orion spacecraft and its life support systems under real deep-space conditions. If all goes to plan, Artemis III will follow. Artemis IV, the subsequent mission, aims to land two astronauts on the Moon as soon as 2028.
The voyage will unfold in several carefully planned stages. On day one, the crew will test how Orion handles in space. Day two brings the vital 'translunar injection burn' – the major engine firing that sends Orion on its path toward the Moon.
The spacecraft is expected to enter the lunar sphere of influence on day five, the point at which the Moon's gravitational pull overtakes Earth's, before reaching closest approach on day six (6 April).
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The second European Service Module (ESM-2) – built by Airbus for the European Space Agency – provides the crew on Orion with propulsion, power and life support systems during their voyage. The module began construction way back in 2017, and is the combined effort of 10 European countries.
From left: backup crew members Andre Douglas (NASA) and Jenni Gibbons (CSA), with Artemis II prime crew Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen (CSA) and Christina Koch, pictured with NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
As the astronauts left quarantine pre-launch, they placed their mission patch on the wall in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – a tradition for all crewed missions into space.
An aerial view of the Artemis II SLS rocket, captured on 20 January 2026. At 98m (322ft) tall, the SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built.
Before heading out on their historic mission, the crew had to complete leak checks on their space suits.
The custom-built suits are engineered to keep the astronauts alive in a worst-case scenario during launch or reentry. They are orange for visibility upon landing in the ocean, fire-resistant and built with a pressurised layer to aid movement.
The Artemis II crew made their way to the launch pad on 1 April 2026. Victor Glover will become the first person of colour, Christina Koch the first woman and Jeremy Hansen the first non-American to travel around the Moon. Reid Wiseman (second from the right) is commander on the mission.
The crew rode two sets of elevators to reach the capsule – first to the mobile launch tower's ‘zero deck,’ then a second lift to the crew access level 83.5m (274ft) above the ground. Each astronaut carried a green bag containing their helmet, gloves, communication cap and personal items.
The Artemis II SLS rocket blasts off at 6:35pm local time (11:35pm in the UK) on 1 April 2026. The twin solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines generated a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust ignition.
Staff at the Canadian Space Agency’s offices in Longueuil, near Montreal, watched tensely as the Artemis II fired into the Florida sky.
Their own Jeremy Hansen is among the four people going to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. According to an AFP journalist at the scene, a spectator broke the tension by crying out, “We're going to the Moon!”
The eyes of the world were on the most historic moment in spaceflight of the 21st century so far.
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Two young spectators clutched their toy rockets at a viewing area on the A Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Florida. Young children today could well be the astronauts of tomorrow who will spearhead missions to Mars… and beyond.
The American flag and Artemis mission banner were on full display as the astronauts headed out on their 10-day mission.
The President's family were on site to watch the launch. The Eric Trump family is seen here on the left, while Donald Trump Jr stands on the right.
The Artemis II SLS rocket climbs into the evening sky above Kennedy Space Center, leaving a column of fire and exhaust cloud in its wake.
The launch came after months of delays caused by a hydrogen leak, a helium flow issue and a last-minute fault with the Flight Termination System resolved just over an hour before liftoff.
Despite its arrow-like appearance in the sky, the rocket did not travel in a straight vertical line. Within minutes, it began to tilt, using what’s known as a ‘gravity turn’ to curve its trajectory and reach orbit in the most fuel-efficient way possible.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is the Artemis launch director, NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program.
The launch marked a new era for space travel. Within years, NASA and other space agencies plan to establish a permanent presence on the Moon.
An Artemis programme patch floats aboard the International Space Station two days before launch. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir took the photo, posting on X: “Our work on the @Space_Station has provided the foundation to explore further, preparing us to return humans to the Moon this week. Stay tuned as we enter the @NASAArtemis era! Expedition 74 will certainly be keeping a close watch. Godspeed, Artemis II!”
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