NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, sending four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon. The mission will mark the farthest human spaceflight since Apollo 13, with astronauts traveling about 250,000 miles and glimpsing the moon’s far side for the first time. The launch is visible across much of Florida and parts of Georgia.
The flight will carry three American astronauts and one Canadian, though no lunar landing is planned. NASA calls the mission a crucial test for future crewed landings, with the goal of returning humans to the moon’s surface in as little as two years. The spacecraft, Orion, will travel beyond the moon’s orbit before returning to Earth.
SpaceX is scheduled to launch a routine mission the next day, April 2, with a northeast trajectory. While details about the payload are not specified, the dual launches highlight Brevard County’s role as a hub for spaceflight. The Artemis II mission is the second under NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable presence on the moon.
As of Wednesday afternoon, NASA reported the crew module hatch on the Orion spacecraft had been closed, a critical step before launch. The spacecraft is based at Kennedy Space Center near Merritt Island. The mission’s success will determine the timeline for Artemis III, which could attempt a lunar landing in 2028.