When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Humanity is on its way back to the moon as NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) blasts the space agency's Orion space capsule on April 1. The launch was even captured from space!
What is it?
This photo shows NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft blasting off from the historic Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT) on Wednesday, April 1.
The launch is represented by a white plume of smoke seen by the GOES-19 weather satellite.
Why is it amazing?
The Artemis 2 mission represents the first time that humans have visited the moon since the Apollo 17 mission back in 1972. Not only this, but during this mission, the four-person crew of Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover will journey farther into space than any other human before them.
The Artemis 2 mission is scheduled to last for around 10 days. Though the crew won't set foot on the lunar surface during this mission, this sets the scene for the future of the Artemis program, particularly Artemis 4 and 5, which will finally return humans to the moon's surface after over half a century.
Follow along with our Artemis 2 mission live updates page for the latest developments.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
New electric car registrations rise sharply in Germany in March - 2At 72, Kathie Lee Gifford says aging isn’t what she expected. 'The golden years? It’s a lie.’
- 3Meet the Artemis crew in NASA's first astronaut mission to the moon in more than a half-century
- 4Apollo's impatient old-timers are rooting for NASA's return to the moon with Artemis II launch
- 5Did we start the fire? A 400,000-year-old hearth sparks new questions about human evolution
- Toyota Just Electrified a Pickup Legend, but It Won’t Be Cheap
- The Iconic, Instantly Recognizable Plastic Chair That's Known All Around The World
- 'Zootopia 2' movie reviews: A heartwarming, hysterical and earnest 'ode to community'
- The top astronomical discoveries of 2025
- 'All's Fair,' Ryan Murphy's new show starring Kim Kardashian, hit with scathing reviews: 'A girlboss fever dream'
- ‘Nahariya get ready’: Banner displaying Hezbollah threat mounted in Tehran’s Palestine Square
- 4 Masked Men Steal Renoir, Matisse and Cézanne Paintings Worth Over $10 Million in 3-Minute Heist
- MacArthur Foundation awards $100M to outbreak surveillance network, a boost amid global health cuts
- The Craft of Do-It-Yourself Home Stylistic layout: Change Your Space
