For the first time in 53 years, the countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, is ticking down towards a lunar destination. Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission, scheduled to take off at 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1.

This mission builds on the success of Artemis I, which was uncrewed and launched in 2022. Artemis II will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, and will travel around the moon before returning to Earth on the last day of the 10-day mission.

The goal of the mission is to verify the Orion spacecraft’s life support and to validate safe human deep-space exploration, which could pave the way for future lunar surface landings and possible missions to Mars. 

The Orion capsule will reach speeds of approximately 25,000 mph upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, hotter and faster than any previous capsule test. Along with this fast re-entry, the Orion capsule will reach a distance up to 250,000 miles from Earth, making this the furthest crewed space mission in history.

The crew for this mission is a diverse group of four individuals, including the first female and first person of color to travel beyond low-earth orbit, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, respectively, and the first Canadian to achieve the same feat, Jeremy Hansen. 

To find out more about the crew and updates on the mission, visit https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/.