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Humans haven’t stepped foot on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Now, the space agency is racing to get back to the lunar surface under the umbrella of its Artemis program — a nod to the Greek goddess and twin sister of Apollo, whose name was given to NASA’s first program to send humans to the Moon.
The program has been plagued by years of delays, development mishaps, and billions of dollars in budget overruns, but the mission is unquestionably ambitious. The goal of Artemis is to create a sustainable presence near the Moon, instead of just sending humans to plant flags and make footprints. The agency also aims to send the first woman to the Moon through the Artemis program.
Artemis I successfully completed its uncrewed mission in 2022. On April 2nd, 2026, Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Station carrying four astronauts in its Orion capsule. The plan is to travel around the Moon before returning to Earth in 10 days’ time. They’ll test out the hardware and systems that could soon see humans standing on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years in the Artemis IV mission scheduled for 2028.
On Monday, April 6th, NASA’s livestream is broadcasting on YouTube and on Netflix as the Artemis II astronauts break the record for the furthest distance humans have traveled away from Earth, and during a planned drop in communications as Orion passes behind the Moon.
The Artemis II astronauts will set a new distance record from Earth today
On April 15th, 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert set a distance record when Apollo 13 traveled 248,655 miles from Earth. Nearly 56 years later, the crew of Artemis II is expected to break that record by several thousand miles when the Orion spacecraft reaches a maximum distance of 252,757 miles away from Earth later today as it completes its flight around the far side of the Moon.
NASA’s coverage of the lunar flyby begins at 1PM ET today if you want to follow along at home, while the astronauts are expected to set the new distance record from Earth at 1:56PM ET. The trip around the far side of the Moon will take about six hours and include observations of the lunar surface never before seen by humans, as well as surveys to identify possible landing locations for future missions.
Today’s Artemis II lunar flyby will be livestreamed on Netflix.
The far side of the Moon peeks out to say hi.
NASA shared this photo taken by the Artemis II crew today, showing the Orientale basin in its entirety for the first time. The far side is also becoming visible as the mission approaches its destination.
Image: NASA
You can’t doomscroll 230,000 miles from Earth.
Artemis II’s astronauts are carrying iPhones, but it’s not to post on Instagram or check email. They can’t even connect to the internet. They’re mostly there for taking photos and videos. According to the New York Times:
The mission is one of the first times that NASA has allowed astronauts to fly with smartphones. NASA gave each astronaut an iPhone during the crew’s quarantine, which started in March, the agency said. But there was no sneaking in a video call on FaceTime or a round of Candy Crush before entering orbit. The phones can’t connect to the internet or use Bluetooth, NASA said. They are primarily for taking photos and videos.
Artemis II is more than halfway to the Moon.
The crew is on track to fly by the Moon on Monday, April 6th, and posting updates along the way, including this stunning pair of photos of the astronauts looking back at Earth. If you want to follow along with every tiny detail, there is a livestream on YouTube.
Why the Artemis II crew is relying on decade old tech.
After liftoff, there was an issue with Outlook running on the mission’s Surface Pro. That left some wondering why NASA was still using such old tech. Well, devices need to be tested and certified. To save money, they went with tech that was already approved. Then the launch date got pushed back… repeatedly. Check out this thread from NASA’s Jason Hutt for the full breakdown.
NASA did eventually solve Artemis II’s Outlook glitch
On Thursday, during Artemis II’s journey to the Moon, commander Reid Wiseman ran into a tech issue some of us back on Earth can relate to: Microsoft Outlook wasn’t working. In a conversation captured in NASA’s Artemis livestream and shared on Bluesky, Wiseman reported to Mission Control: “I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those are working.”
To take care of the issue, Mission Control had to remotely access Wiseman’s personal computing device (PCD), a Microsoft Surface Pro. During a press conference on Thursday, Artemis flight director Judd Frieling said NASA had fixed the issue, stating, “This is not uncommon. We have this on-station all the time. You know, sometimes Outlook has issues getting configured, especially when you don’t have a network that’s directly connected. And so essentially we just had to reload his files on Outlook to get it working.”
Hey, that’s Earth!
Check out these incredible photos of our planet taken by Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman. Amazing.
1/2Image: NASA
“With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth, we choose it.”
The Orion spacecraft is now on a course to take four astronauts around the moon in four days time.
Artemis II tech support checking in.
While I’m pretty sure the ship’s computers aren’t running on Windows, the crew is equipped with iPhones, tablets, and laptops “to review procedures and load entertainment onto before launch.”
A stunning look at the Artemis II liftoff.
Alongside the beautiful shots I’m seeing across social media, NASA has a photo album for yesterday’s launch that’s well worth checking out even if you tuned into the livestream. The album is hosted on Flickr, making America’s mission to the moon feel even more nostalgic.
NASA launches four astronauts toward the Moon on the Artemis II mission
Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis II flight, which is set to take four astronauts toward the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, successfully launched on Wednesday evening.
The Artemis II mission, part of NASA’s Artemis program that’s intended to bring humans back onto the Moon as early as 2028, will bring the four astronauts in orbit around the Moon on the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, will make the trip aboard the Orion crew capsule, and the full mission is expected to be a 10-day journey. The mission was delayed in February due to a helium supply issue.
The Artemis Moon base project is legally dubious
With NASA planning to launch four astronauts on Wednesday on its Artemis II mission, the race to return to the Moon is back on. The current mission will see astronauts aboard the Orion capsule travel around the Moon before returning to Earth in 10 days’ time. They’ll be testing out the hardware and systems that could soon see Americans standing on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years in the Artemis IV mission scheduled for 2028. NASA isn’t ready to land people on the Moon just yet, but that’s the aim for the next five years: to not only get people onto the Moon but establish a lengthy human presence on its surface.
That’s NASA’s selling point of Artemis, compared to the Apollo missions of the 1960s and ’70s — we won’t just be visiting the Moon for a few days, but rather inhabiting it for a long period of time. Exactly how long is still unclear, but the idea is to build a Moon base that allows astronauts to live on the lunar surface for weeks or even months at a time.
NASA’s Moon mission delayed again.
Artemis 2, slated to launch four astronauts around the Moon in just a few weeks, has been delayed due to a helium supply issue in the SLS rocket’s upper stage. The mission, originally scheduled for 2023, has now been delayed to April, at the earliest.
NASA’s now targeting March 6th as its earliest Artemis II launch attempt.
Artemis II delayed.
NASA’s overnight wet dress rehearsal of the SLS rocket surfaced a liquid hydrogen leak. A second wet dress rehearsal is now needed, pushing the earliest possible launch of the crewed mission around the moon to March.
Cold weather in Florida is pushing back the Artemis II launch
As a result of cold weather and windy conditions moving through Florida, NASA is now targeting Monday, February 2nd for a wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Depending on how Monday’s rehearsal goes, NASA will potentially set a launch date for Artemis II. But as a result of the weather-related delays, NASA says February 6th and 7th “are no longer viable opportunities” for a launch. Sunday, February 8th will instead be the first potential window.
NASA originally planned to conduct the wet dress rehearsal for the rocket this weekend, which is currently stacked with the Orion spacecraft on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The 49 hour rehearsal includes fueling the rocket (hence the term wet) and a simulated countdown that ends 33 seconds before launch. During the rehearsal NASA engineers will test emergency escape procedures at the launch site and collect data from the SLS. A full wet rehearsal must be completed before the Artemis II mission will be cleared for launch next week.
SpaceX proposes a new plan for NASA’s Artemis III moon landing.
Former Real World cast member and current Transportation Secretary / acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy recently said SpaceX was “behind” on its contract for Artemis III and proposed reopening it. (Elon Musk responded with a predictable slew of insults.)
Now SpaceX has a response, but its blog post is missing one thing: the details of this “simplified” approach.
In response to the latest calls, we’ve shared and are formally assessing a simplified mission architecture and concept of operations that we believe will result in a faster return to the Moon while simultaneously improving crew safety.
NASA’s mission to return humans to the Moon has been delayed again until 2026
Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images
NASA has, once again, postponed the Artemis missions that will return humans to the Moon. The Artemis II mission, which will have astronauts orbiting the Moon, had already been pushed from 2024 to September 2025 but is now planned for April 2026. Artemis III, which will return astronauts to the surface of the Moon near its south pole, is now planned to launch the following year in mid-2027.
The 10-day Artemis II mission will send four astronauts to the Moon, including Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen. The mission won’t include a landing, but it will be the first time astronauts launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket inside the Orion crew capsule that will orbit the Moon before returning to Earth with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA wants SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver cargo to the moon
After asking both SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop cargo landers for its Artemis missions, NASA has announced plans to use those landers to deliver heavy equipment to the Moon.
The agency wants Elon Musk’s SpaceX to use its Starship cargo lander to deliver a pressurized rover to the Moon “no earlier” than 2032, while Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will be tasked with delivering a lunar surface habitat no sooner than 2033. Both launches will support NASA’s Artemis missions, which aim to bring humans back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.
NASA picks three companies to develop a Moon car for Artemis astronauts
NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to develop the lunar terrain rover for its Artemis lunar explorations. All three companies are in the running for task orders with a potential value of $4.6 billion over the next 13 years.
The trio will develop their team’s ideas for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) to help astronauts explore the Moon’s south polar region. It’s believed the area contains frozen water, so it makes sense for NASA to set up base camp there.
NASA’s Artemis mission to take humans back to the Moon has been delayed until 2025
NASA has pushed back its timeline for the crewed Artemis missions that will send human beings to the Moon. The first one, Artemis II, was supposed to take place later this year, but now it will launch in September 2025 to orbit the Earth’s satellite, with the landing mission, Artemis III, now planned for a year later in September 2026. NASA said the Artemis IV mission to take humans to the lunar Gateway space station in 2028 is still on track.
The future missions are intended to “establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon” and “land the first woman and the first person of color” on its surface. The Artemis missions use NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, which was also subject to years of setbacks before NASA deemed it ready for duty.
How to watch NASA’s Artemis I SLS megarocket launch
Photo by Joel Kowsky / NASA via Getty Images
NASA moves next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to September 3rd
NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Clear your plans on Saturday: NASA says we’re going to have a rocket launch.
The space agency moved the date for the next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to Saturday, September 3rd, after determining that the initial plan for Friday was going to run into bad weather.
