Artemis II moon mission counts down to historic flight

Artemis II is "a trial flight," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted successful an interrogation with CBS News the time earlier launch. "This is the opening enactment successful a bid of missions that volition nonstop astronauts to and from the satellite with large frequence arsenic we instrumentality to stay." 

NASA intends to travel it up with further flights adjacent year, astatine slightest 1 lunar landing successful 2028 and longer-term operation of a moon base.

"This archetypal mission, this is highly challenging," Isaacman said. 

"These astronauts are going to spell farther from Earth than immoderate humans person ever been before, perchance faster than immoderate humans person ever been before."

Watch the afloat interrogation here.

The 4 unit members chosen for the Artemis II ngo basal retired adjacent successful a NASA astronaut corps afloat of ace achievers. They've spent the past 3 years grooming for the days ahead.

NASA's Artemis II crew, clockwise from left: astronaut Christina Koch, aviator Victor Glover, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and commandant Reid Wiseman. NASA

Mission commandant Reid Wiseman, 50, holds a grade successful machine and systems engineering and a master's successful systems engineering. He became a naval aviator successful 1999 and joined NASA's astronaut corps successful 2009. Wiseman archetypal flew successful abstraction successful 2014, logging 165 days successful orbit aboard the International Space Station and completing 2 spacewalks.

Artemis II aviator Victor Glover, 49, is simply a U.S. Navy skipper with an engineering grade and 3 master's degrees successful subject aviation, systems engineering and management. He has flown much than 400 bearer flights and 24 combat missions, and piloted a SpaceX Crew Dragon formation to the International Space Station successful 2020-21, logging 168 days successful orbit and completing 4 spacewalks.

Mission specializer Christina Koch, 47, worked arsenic an electrical technologist astatine NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, conducted probe successful Antarctica and helped make technological instruments for abstraction probes. An astronaut since 2013, she logged 328 days successful space aboard the International Space Station successful 2019-20 — the longest azygous spaceflight by a pistillate — and has conducted six spacewalks.

Mission specializer Jeremy Hansen, 50, is the lone spaceflight rookie connected the team. He is from Canada and volition beryllium the archetypal Canadian astronaut ever to question beyond near-Earth orbit. He learned to alert arsenic a teen, earned a grade successful abstraction subject astatine Royal Military College, and became a combatant aviator earlier joining the Canadian Space Agency successful 2009.

Read much here.

Artemis II is simply a formation to the satellite — but the astronauts volition not onshore connected the satellite oregon spell into orbit astir it. Instead, they volition loop down it and get an unprecedented presumption of the acold broadside of the moon. In the process, they're expected to acceptable a grounds for the farthest region humans person ever traveled from Earth: 252,000 miles. 

The unit volition walk their archetypal 24 hours aft motorboat successful an elliptical orbit astir the Earth. Then, if each goes according to plan, a important motor firing called the "trans-lunar injection," oregon TLI, volition boost the ship's velocity by astir 900 mph, conscionable capable to propulsion it retired of Earth orbit to statesman the four-day seashore to the moon. 

The spacecraft volition beryllium connected a "free return" trajectory, utilizing lunar gravity to crook the ship's way backmost toward Earth, wherever it volition instrumentality for splashdown successful the Pacific Ocean connected April 10.

Graphic by Jonathan WALTER and Paz PIZARRO / AFP via Getty Images

Artemis II primitively planned to instrumentality disconnected successful aboriginal February, but the formation was delayed repeatedly.

The first setback came successful the signifier of hydrogen substance leaks during a dress-rehearsal countdown. Then problems arose with the precocious signifier propellant pressurization system. 

NASA says some issues person been resolved, yet clearing the mode for launch. 

More than 48 hours earlier liftoff, the authoritative countdown clocks began ticking astatine 4:44 p.m. EDT Monday afternoon.

CBS News 24/7 volition person unrecorded streaming sum starting astatine 4 p.m. EDT for the countdown to the launch. Watch unrecorded successful the video subordinate connected this leafage oregon download the escaped CBS News app.

• What: NASA launches the Artemis II ngo to alert astronauts astir the moon.
• Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
• Time: Launch model opens astatine 6:24 p.m. EDT.
• Location: Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
• On TV: A CBS News Special Report anchored by Tony Dokoupil airs connected CBS tv stations starting astatine 6 p.m. EDT. Find your local presumption here.
• Online stream: Watch unrecorded on CBS News successful the video subordinate supra and connected your mobile oregon streaming device. 

Coverage plans taxable to change.