Space: Artemis II team gets green light for trip to the Moon

Thursday 2 April 2026

The Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. Four astronauts blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket April 1 on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. With an intense roar that reverberated far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 pm local time, according to an AFP journalist onsite. "We're going to the Moon!" yelled a spectator. Jim WATSON / AFP

NASA has authorised the Artemis II crew to propel their spacecraft towards the Moon in the coming hours.

The Orion spacecraft, currently orbiting the Earth, is scheduled to perform the manoeuvre at 23:49 GMT (01:49 on Friday in Belgium).

Flight director Jeff Radigan confirmed the operation from Houston’s control centre at around 20:00 GMT.