Artemis II Mission: Launch, Lunar Flyby and Return
NASA’s Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon and safely back to Earth during a crewed test flight from April 1 to April 10, 2026.
Timeline
- April 1, 2026: The Space Launch System launched Orion and its four-person crew.
- April 10, 2026: Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off California.
Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026 and returned on April 10 after a crewed lunar flyby. NASA lists the mission duration as nine days, one hour and 32 minutes. The flight carried NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. [1][2]
The mission did not land on the Moon. Orion carried the crew around the Moon on a trajectory that brought the spacecraft back toward Earth, making Artemis II a flight test and lunar flyby rather than a surface expedition. Describing it as a Moon landing would change the mission’s central objective. [1]
NASA used the flight to test the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, life-support equipment, communications and crew procedures in deep space. An uncrewed Artemis I mission had already tested major systems; Artemis II added people and the operational demands of protecting and supporting a crew. [1][2]
Orion splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean off California on April 10. NASA and US military recovery teams assisted the astronauts from the spacecraft and transported them to the recovery ship. Splashdown completed the flight phase, followed by medical and engineering review. [2]
NASA described the crew as the first astronauts to travel near the Moon in more than half a century. That historical comparison refers to human lunar-distance flight since Apollo, not the first spacecraft or robotic mission to visit the Moon during the intervening years. [1][2]
The mission’s data inform later Artemis planning, but a successful Artemis II flight does not itself guarantee the date or design of every later mission. Schedules, landing systems and objectives are separate program decisions. The completed result is the nine-day crewed flyby and safe return. [1][2]
The four crew members traveled together in Orion for the entire lunar flight. Wiseman served as commander, Glover as pilot, and Koch and Hansen as mission specialists. The multinational crew and the presence of the first Canadian to travel around the Moon were part of the mission’s historical significance. [1][2]