Artemis II (Artemis 2)

01Fly the mission

The as-flown trajectory, replayed from NASA/JPL Horizons data: scrub through the nine days from launch to splashdown, or jump between milestones.

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02Mission facts

03Mission timeline

1. April 1, 2026

   Liftoff at 6:35 p.m. EDT; hours later, about 70 minutes of manual proximity operations around the spent upper stage, flown by Wiseman and Glover

2. April 2, 2026

   Trans-lunar injection at 7:49 p.m. EDT: the first humans to depart Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972

3. April 6, 2026

   Orion enters the lunar sphere of influence at 12:37 a.m. ET; that afternoon the crew passes Apollo 13’s distance record

4. April 6, 2026, evening

   About 40 minutes out of contact behind the Moon; closest approach, then earthrise at 7:25 p.m. EDT, then a nearly hour-long solar eclipse watched from space

5. April 8, 2026

   Return-leg tests; flight controllers forgo the planned second manual piloting demo

6. April 10, 2026

   Splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT off San Diego; crew and capsule recovered aboard USS John P. Murtha

04Crew

Reid Wiseman

Commander · NASA

Victor Glover

Pilot · NASA

Christina Koch

Mission Specialist · NASA

Jeremy Hansen

Mission Specialist · CSA

Portraits: NASA/Josh Valcarcel.

05The mission

Artemis II was the first crewed flight of the Artemis program: four astronauts aboard Orion on a free-return loop around the Moon, the first humans to leave low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Over 9 days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes, the mission validated Orion’s life support and crewed operations in deep space. Its trajectory was designed so that even without a single engine burn after trans-lunar injection, the spacecraft would coast around the Moon and return home.

06Flying Orion by hand

Hours after launch, in a high Earth orbit of 44,525 by 115 miles, Orion separated from its upper stage and used the spent stage as a practice target. Over roughly 70 minutes the spacecraft performed an automated backflip to face the stage, stopped at about 300 feet, and let Wiseman and Glover take over on the hand controllers, closing to about 30 feet for fine handling checks against a roughly two-foot optical target on the stage.

The demonstration gave NASA its first data on how Orion handles during manual close-range flying around another spacecraft, a capability the lunar landing missions need for rendezvous and docking. A second manual piloting test planned for the return leg was forgone by flight controllers; the crew spent that day on re-entry preparations instead.

07Around the far side

On April 2, Orion’s main engine fired for 5 minutes and 50 seconds to complete the trans-lunar injection burn. NASA’s Dr. Lori Glaze marked the moment: "for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans have departed Earth orbit."

During the pass behind the Moon on April 6, the crew went out of contact with Earth for roughly 40 minutes. NASA states the four astronauts were the first to see some parts of the lunar far side with human eyes, and Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian to fly around the Moon. After earthrise restored communications, the crew watched a solar eclipse from space for nearly an hour as the Moon crossed in front of the Sun.

08Science aboard Integrity

The AVATAR investigation flew organ-on-a-chip devices to study how deep-space radiation and microgravity affect human tissue, extending each astronaut’s biology beyond low Earth orbit without extra risk to the crew.

The crew returned more than 7,000 images of the lunar surface, documented topography in the Moon’s south pole region, proposed potential names for two lunar craters, and reported meteoroid impact flashes on the Moon’s night side. Human research continued throughout: all four evaluated compression garments worn under their suits for the return to gravity, and the mission’s zero gravity indicator, named Rise, floated through it all.

09From the mission cameras

Tap a photo to enlarge.

10Two photographs, 57 years apart

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APOLLO 8 · 1968ARTEMIS II · 2026

11Sources

• NASA: Artemis II crew returns (mission wrap)
• NASA: crewed distance record
• NASA: Artemis II leaves Earth orbit
• NASA: flight day 6 lunar flyby timeline
• NASA: Artemis II mission page
• NASA: Artemis II press kit

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