NASA launches four astronauts to moon on world's first crewed lunar mission in half a century

The four astronauts aboard Artemis II, who embarked on a high-stakes flight around the Moon in the world’s first crewed lunar voyage in more than half a century, have reached orbit. They will circle the Earth for about 25 hours before being propelled toward the Moon.

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday. Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman leads the mission and is accompanied by pilot Victor Glover, along with mission specialists Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen.

The Orion spacecraft will demonstrate life-support systems for the first time with a crew and lay the foundation for an enduring human presence on the Moon, ahead of future missions to Mars.

After reaching space, Orion deployed its solar array wings, enabling the spacecraft to receive energy from the Sun. Meanwhile, the crew and engineers on the ground began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to flight operations and started checking key systems, the space agency said.

“Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon’s surface with confidence. We are one mission into a long campaign, and the work ahead of us is greater than the work behind us,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.

Mission Control’s communication link with the orbiting capsule briefly cut out after switching from one tracking and data relay satellite to another, but the problem was quickly resolved by resetting ground equipment.

Within 49 minutes after liftoff, the SLS rocket’s upper stage fired to place Orion into Earth orbit. A second planned burn will propel Orion, which the crew has named “Integrity,” into a high Earth orbit extending about 46,000 miles beyond Earth. After this burn, Orion will separate from the stage and fly independently.

The spacecraft will remain in high Earth orbit for about a day, during which the crew will conduct a manual piloting demonstration to test Orion’s handling capabilities. The astronauts, working with Mission Control teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will continue checking the spacecraft’s systems, NASA said.

During a planned multi-hour lunar flyby on April 6, the astronauts will take photographs and provide observations of the Moon’s surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side.  Crew observations and human health–related scientific investigations conducted during the mission, such as AVATAR, will help inform research for future lunar missions.

After completing the mission,  the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.