When is Artemis 2 launching? How to watch the launch in Arizona
We are finally going to the moon … again. Because, apparently, one giant leap just wasn’t enough.
The Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, marking the first return to deep space since Apollo 17.
Artemis II will send four astronauts abroad the Orion, launched by the Space Launch System. Unlike future missions, Artemis II won’t land on the moon; instead, it will perform a lunar flyby, traveling thousands of miles beyond the moon before returning to Earth.
When is the Artemis 2 launch?
NASA’s Artemis II mission launches on Wednesday, April 1, at 3:24 p.m. Arizona time.
Where is artemis 2 launching from?
Artemis II is scheduled to launch from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Will Artemis 2 have a crew?
Yes, Artemis II will be a manned mission. Here are the four crew members:
- NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native and the mission’s commander who last flew to space in 2014 on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
- NASA astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot from Pomona, California, who flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.
- NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who holds several space agency records and who flew in 2019 on a Soyuz ISS mission.
- Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.
Why is Artemis 2 a big deal?
Artemis II is a major milestone as the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. The crew of four astronauts will be on a 10-day journey around the Moon to test systems for future surface landings.