Artemis II mission to moon begins...

April 2, 2026  

 

 

Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday (Apr 1) on NASA’s Artemis II mission, a high-stakes 10-day trip around the moon that marks the United States’ boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface this decade before China’s first crewed landing.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule, roared to life just before sunset at 10.35pm GMT at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center to lift its first crew of three US astronauts and a Canadian astronaut off Earth, a thunderous ascent leaving behind a towering column of thick white vapour.

Images Courtesy: Reuters 

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