Your Guide to NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission

Space agency is targeting Wednesday for the historic journey—its first to the moon in more than half a century.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 05:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Artemis II crewmembers Reid Wiseman (from left), Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen stand before NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday. [Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls]

Key Takeaways:

Artemis II is a pivotal 10-day crewed mission sending four astronauts farther from Earth than any human has gone before, on a journey around the Moon without landing.
The mission's primary goal is to rigorously test the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, along with critical procedures, to pave the way for future lunar landings, a permanent Moon base, and Mars missions.
Despite being years behind schedule and billions over budget, Artemis II's success is crucial for the U.S. to re-establish lunar exploration capabilities, maintain its leadership in space, and overcome technical risks like the heat shield issues from Artemis I.

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The countdown has begun. The crew is ready. And barring any last-minute hiccups, four astronauts on Wednesday will begin a journey that sends them farther from Earth than any human has gone before.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen—the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission—are expected to travel more than 230,000 miles from Earth and 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the moon during their 10-day trip.