Addis Ababa, April 1, 2026 (FMC) – NASA is preparing to launch Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission in more than five decades, marking a major milestone in human space exploration, the Associated Press reported. The mission is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday evening, beginning a roughly 10‑day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.
The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts aboard NASA’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft on a flyby trajectory around the Moon, without landing, before returning to Earth. If successful, it will be the first human spaceflight beyond low‑Earth orbit since the Apollo program ended in 1972, according to the Associated Press.
The crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, forming a diverse team. Koch will become the first woman and Glover the first person of color to travel into deep space, while Hansen will be the first non-American to venture beyond low-Earth orbit.
Artemis II follows NASA’s uncrewed Artemis I test flight and is a critical preparatory step toward future lunar landings and sustained exploration of the Moon. During the mission, the Orion capsule will travel further than humans have ever ventured, reaching several thousand miles beyond the Moon and likely surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13 before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA has addressed recent technical challenges, including hydrogen fuel leaks during testing, and reported that the rocket and spacecraft systems are now ready for launch, with favorable weather expected for liftoff.
The Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and serve as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars and deeper space destinations.