Artemis II

Timeline

1. 1 Apr2026
   Science and tech

   NASA launches Artemis II; crew sets distance record and splashes down¹²³⁴⁵

   NASA launched Artemis II on 1 April, sending Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen on a lunar flyby. On 6 April the crew passed the Apollo 13 distance record and Orion splashed down in the Pacific on 10 April.

   • Launch 1 April 2026 from Kennedy Space Center on the SLS
   • Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (NASA) and Jeremy Hansen (Canada)
   • 6 April: crew passed the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 miles; peak distance about 252,756 miles (406,771 km), more than 4,100 miles beyond Apollo 13
   • Splashdown 10 April 2026 in the Pacific off San Diego (evening US time, so 11 April in some time zones)
   • First crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 (1972)
2. 24 Mar2026
   Science and tech

   NASA pauses Lunar Gateway; Artemis II countdown begins for 1 April launch⁶⁷⁸⁹

   On 24 March 2026 NASA said it would pause the Lunar Gateway to focus on a surface base. Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17, then launched on 1 April and splashed down on 10 April.

   • 24 March 2026: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Gateway would be paused and focus shifted to a lunar surface base (about USD 20 billion over seven years)
   • Artemis II launched on 1 April 2026 at 6:35 pm EDT and splashed down off San Diego on 10 April
   • Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen; first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 (1972)

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Sources

1. Spectrum News (AP)
2. IANS
3. BBC Sky at Night
4. News Tribune (AP)
5. FOX 2 Detroit
6. Sharjah24
7. Deccan Chronicle
8. NASA (official)
9. Bay News 9