Artemis II
Four astronauts flew around the Moon and back: the first crew beyond Earth orbit since 1972.
Success April 1–11, 2026
Goal
- Test Orion’s life support, controls and displays with people on board.
- Fly Orion by hand near the spent upper stage, practice for docking later.
- Loop around the Moon on a free-return path, so Earth’s and the Moon’s gravity bring the crew home even if the engine can’t fire.
What happened
The crew spent their first day in a high orbit around Earth checking Orion’s systems, then fired toward the Moon and swung around its far side.
They reached 406,771 km (252,756 miles) from Earth, a new record for people, beating Apollo 13.
Glover, Koch and Hansen became the first Black astronaut, first woman and first non-American to travel to the Moon.
Orion splashed down in the Pacific on April 11, 2026 (UTC), after about nine days.
Crew
- Reid WisemanCommander, NASA
- Victor GloverPilot, NASA
- Christina KochMission specialist, NASA
- Jeremy HansenMission specialist, Canadian Space Agency
Our coverage
Human Spaceflight
Artemis II commander named JPL deputy director
Future dates come from the launch calendar and are checked every week; they often slip. All Artemis missions