Artemis II: The Crewed Return to Lunar Orbit

On April 1, 2026, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) roared to life, carrying the **Orion spacecraft** and its crew of four on a historic mission to the Moon. This mission, **Artemis II**, is the first crewed flight to the lunar vicinity since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Meet the Crew

The mission is commanded by **Reid Wiseman**, a veteran astronaut with a background in engineering and naval aviation. He is joined by Pilot **Victor Glover**, who previously piloted the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the ISS. Mission Specialists **Christina Koch**, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and **Jeremy Hansen**, representing the Canadian Space Agency, round out the elite team.

Technical Milestones

The **Translunar Injection (TLI)** burn was successfully completed early this morning, propelling Orion out of Earth's orbit and onto a 10-day loop that will take it behind the Moon. The spacecraft is performing nominally, with all life support systems reporting 100% efficiency.

One of the critical tests during this phase is the **High Earth Orbit (HEO)** proximity operations, where the crew manually piloted Orion to simulate a docking procedure. This data is vital for future **Artemis III** lunar landing attempts.

The Farthest Journey

By April 6, the crew will reach their farthest point from Earth—approximately 400,000 kilometers away. This "Free Return Trajectory" ensures that Orion will naturally loop back toward Earth using lunar gravity, a safety-first architecture that prioritizes crew survival.