NASA's Artemis II mission, from its delays to the crew's flight around the moon

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency named the four-person crew in April 2023 for a flight aboard the Orion spacecraft.^[8][9] In January 2024 NASA said they would have to wait until 2025 to fly,^[10] and in December it pushed the mission to April 2026.^[6] The Space Launch System rocket rolled to the launch pad in January 2026,^[11] but problems pushed the launch to spring,^[12][13] and in February Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a "course correction" that would add missions and speed up launches.^[7]

The countdown began on March 30,^[14] and the crew launched on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center, reaching Earth orbit after what CNN called a spectacular launch.^[15][5] On the way they sent back images of a tiny Earth,^[16][17] and on April 6 they flew around the moon, giving unprecedented views of its far side after breaking Apollo 13's distance record.^[3] President Donald Trump called the crew to congratulate them,^[18] and they splashed down off San Diego.^[4] In August Trump awarded the crew the Congressional Space Medal of Honor,^[19] and in September NASA said Wiseman and Glover were stepping away from spaceflight.^[20] In November, researchers reported that the launch's powerful rocket and later engine burns had temporarily disturbed Earth's ionosphere, raising concerns about brief effects on GPS positioning.^[21][22]