The mission aims to take astronauts into lunar orbit for the first time since 1972.
NASA’s Artemis II flight, set to bring four astronauts towards the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, successfully launched on Wednesday evening. The mission, part of NASA’s Artemis program aiming to bring humans back to the Moon as early as 2028, will orbit the Moon with four astronauts on the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen will travel aboard the Orion crew capsule during the 10-day mission. The launch was previously delayed in February due to a helium supply issue.
NASA recently pushed back its Moon landing plans, reallocating the 2027 Artemis III mission from a Moon landing to a test flight. The next planned Moon landing is set for the Artemis IV mission in 2028. The last NASA Moon landing was with 1972’s Apollo 17 mission. Artemis I, an uncrewed mission where the SLS launched the Orion capsule around the Moon, occurred in 2022.
Currently, NASA is livestreaming the Artemis II launch on Twitch and YouTube and providing live updates on the NASA website.