The first crewed test flight under NASA’s Artemis program is underway. Four Artemis II astronauts are flying aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back, as they test how the spacecraft’s systems operate in a deep space environment.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1 from launch pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Real-time coverage continues throughout the mission on NASA’s YouTube channel. The agency also provides a separate live stream of views from the Orion spacecraft as bandwidth allows, as well as inside the capsule. In addition NASA is providing the latest mission imagery online.
Daily mission status briefings are held live from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston through splashdown, except for Monday, April 6, due to lunar flyby activities. A list of activities is regularly updated online.
The crew are participating in live conversations throughout the mission, which were scheduled prior to their departure from Earth. NASA will provide the exact times of each of these downlink events, as well as the latest mission coverage, on the Artemis blog.
To track Orion in space, visit: nasa.gov/trackartemis
Frequently Asked Questions (all times Eastern):
How long is the Artemis II mission? NASA’s Artemis II mission is an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon including launch, a lunar flyby, and a safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego.
How far will Artemis II travel? Crew is expected to travel a total of 695,081 miles from launch to splashdown. The spacecraft will pass within 4,066 miles of the …
