To the Moon and Back: The Artemis II Mission Has Launched

A successful start

Whether you’re a fan of space exploration or not, you’ve probably heard that the Artemis II mission successfully launched on Thursday , April 2, 2026, about half an hour after midnight our time. The four-member crew, launched from the U.S. space center in Florida, is now headed for the Moon—and the mission is expected to be exceptional in several ways.

More than fifty years since the last trip to the Moon

Artemis II marks humanity’s historic return to the Moon after more than half a century. During the roughly ten-day mission, four astronauts will orbit the Moon on a free-return, with the mission serving as a critical test of the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and all vital systems under real-world deep-space conditions.

In addition to setting distance records, it also marks many symbolic firsts for the crew. Artemis II thus paves the way for future human landings on the Moon and other missions under the Artemis program. The Artemis III mission is scheduled for 2028.

Who's on board

These first-place finishes are represented by every member of the crew:

Christina Koch – the first woman to travel to the Moon and, among other things, the most experienced crew member in terms of time spent in space (328 days)
Victor Glover – the first Black person on a lunar mission
Jeremy Hansen – the first Canadian, a fighter pilot, and the first non-American to reach the Moon
Reid Wiseman – an experienced commander and the oldest person to leave low Earth orbit

Mission Objective and Interesting Facts

In addition to the primary objectives of the mission described above, it is worth mentioningthe widerange of scientific research that this space mission will facilitate. Among other things, this includes the continuous collection of vast amounts of data, including, of course, data on the crew members. Specifically, this involves, for example, measuring radiation levels, which would be crucial for any future expansion of humanity deeper into space.

Just a quick note:

The last manned mission took place in1972 (Apollo 17), i.e., 53 years ago
The Orion module is equipped with Czech chips manufactured by Advacam. These chips will monitor radiation levels in real time, thereby protecting the astronauts’ health as they pass through the Van Allen radiation belts.
The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is approximately 385,000 km
Unlike the uncrewed Artemis I mission, the Artemis II crew will be the first to test all life support systems on the Orion spacecraft during a roughly ten-day flight around the Moon
On the return journey, the module is set to undergo another stress test—at the highest return speed to date
You can find more interesting information, beautiful photo galleries, and details about the progress of all missions on the website NASA