Humanity returns to the Moon: NASA launches Artemis II for the first time in half a century

Today, April 1, 2026, NASA has launched the Artemis II mission — the first crewed flight to the Moon since 1972.

The SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board are four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The mission will last around ten days. The crew will fly around the Moon and return to Earth — without landing on the surface. This flight primarily serves as a systems test ahead of the next step: Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. Notably, the Artemis II crew includes the first woman and the first Black astronaut to travel to lunar vicinity.

The Artemis program has been building toward this moment for several years, facing numerous delays along the way. The first mission — the uncrewed Artemis I — took place in late 2022. Now, it’s humanity’s turn again.

Did you follow the launch? Share your thoughts in the comments.