Artemis II - Return to the Moon
ARTEMIS II
Humanity Returns to the Moon
April 1–10, 2026
Launch
April 1, 2026 - 6:35 PM EDT Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Upper Stage Separation
Video link: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cmasaw1-20260402015754-3.mp4
The Crew
Commander Reid Wiseman
Pilot Victor Glover
Mission Specialist Christina Koch
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (CSA)
252,706 miles from home Farther than any human has ever traveled
Day 4
The far side appears.
Vavilov Crater
The far side of the Moon. Terrain no human eye had ever seen.
Lunar Far Side Flyby
Video link: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005600/a005633/mission_1min_2160p30.mp4
Simulated flyby of the lunar far side
Earthrise. Again.
For the first time in 53 years.
A Solar Eclipse
From the far side of the Moon 54 minutes of totality
The View
From 200,000 miles out
10,000 photos
700,237 miles flown
Splashdown
April 10, 2026 — 8:07 PM EDT Pacific Ocean, near San Diego A perfect bullseye splashdown
This was just the flyby.
Next: Artemis III — boots on the Moon.
Images and videos credit: Nasa