NASA is less than a week away from launching Artemis 2, its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than five decades, marking a major step in the United States’ return to deep space exploration.
The mission is scheduled to lift off on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10:24 p.m. GMT) from Kennedy Space Center. If successful, Artemis 2 will send astronauts on a roughly 10-day journey around the Moon and back, paving the way for future lunar landings under NASA’s Artemis program.
The flight will be the first time astronauts travel beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, the final mission of the Apollo era. Unlike its predecessor, Artemis 2 will not land on the lunar surface but will conduct a flyby to test critical systems, including life support, navigation and deep-space communication.
NASA officials said preparations remain on track, with engineers and mission planners finalizing prelaunch checks. The agency has emphasized the importance of Artemis 2 as a proving ground for technologies and operations that will be used in later missions, including Artemis 3, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon’s south pole.
The Artemis program, named after Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, reflects NASA’s goal of building on the legacy of the Apollo missions while expanding exploration to include long-term lunar presence and eventual missions to Mars.
Public interest in the mission has surged in recent weeks, with space enthusiasts closely following updates and preparations. NASA and affiliated media outlets are expected to provide continuous coverage leading up to launch and throughout the mission, including the spacecraft’s journey around the Moon and its planned ocean splashdown upon return.
Artemis 2 represents a critical milestone in the agency’s broader strategy to reestablish human exploration beyond Earth orbit, signaling what NASA describes as a new era of sustained lunar exploration.