It's happening: historic Moon mission set for launch

By Charlotte Causit with Maggy Donaldson in New York
Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) April 1, 2026
On Wednesday three men and one woman are set to embark on the first crewed journey to the Moon since 1972, a landmark odyssey that aims to launch the US into a new era of space exploration.

The NASA mission dubbed Artemis 2 has been years in the making after facing repeated setbacks, but is finally scheduled to take off from Florida as early as April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT).

The team featuring Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen will set forth on the approximately 10-day mission and hurtle around Earth's natural satellite without landing -- much like Apollo 8 did in 1968.

The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.

It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, dubbed SLS.

The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon in years to come, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration.

"The moon is a witness plate to our entire solar system's formation," said astronaut Koch in a press conference over the weekend.

"It's a stepping stone to Mars, where we might have the most likelihood of finding evidence of past life, but it's also a Rosetta Stone for how other solar systems form."

- 'Ready' -

The mission was originally due to take off as early as February.

But repeated setbacks stalled the mission and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs.

Now Amit Kshatriya, the US space agency's associate administrator, said at a recent briefing that "the vehicle is ready, the system is ready. The crew is ready."

As of Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials voiced confidence that engineering operations and final preparations were proceeding smoothly -- and that the weather was looking promising.

If Wednesday's launch is canceled or delayed, there are more liftoff opportunities through April 6, although weather later in the week was looking slightly less favorable, officials said.

"We'll have to monitor those feisty cumulus clouds and potentially a few showers and breezes as well," Mark Burger, the launch weather officer, said Tuesday.

But Burger added that even if there are a few rain showers, "none of those look particularly vigorous" and would likely be intermittent on Wednesday -- "we should be able to find some clear air to launch Artemis."

Melinda Schuerfranz is a retiree from Ohio who ventured to Florida for the launch.

"We're looking forward to it, we've never seen anything like this," the 76-year-old swimsuit-clad beachgoer told AFP.

"The restaurant we went up to last night for supper, they were all talking about it."

But Schuerfranz remembers the Apollo era, and thinks some of the magic might be lost in today's more fragmented media environment: "I think it was way more exciting then," she said. "Everybody tuned into it."

- 'Astronauts for Halloween' -

The Artemis program has been plagued by delays and massive cost overruns.

And its also facing pressure from President Donald Trump, who has pushed the pace of the ambitious program that's aiming to see boots hit the lunar surface before his second term ends in early 2029.

Artemis 2's objectives include verifying that both the rocket and the spacecraft are in working order in the hopes of paving the way for a return and Moon landing in 2028.

That deadline has raised eyebrows among experts, in part because Washington is relying on the private sector's technological headway.

The astronauts will require a second vehicle to descend to the moon's surface, a lunar lander that remains under development by rival space companies owned by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

This contemporary era of American lunar investment has frequently been portrayed as an effort in competition with China, which is currently aiming to land humans on the Moon by 2030.

For newly minted NASA head Jared Isaacman, it's a multi-pronged pursuit related to scientific discovery, national security and economic opportunity -- as well as some less-tangible goals.

"I guarantee after these astronauts fly around the moon, you're going to have more kids dressing up as astronauts for Halloween," Isaacman said during a recent television interview.

"And that's going to inspire the next generation to take us further."

Artemis 2 Moon mission: a primer
Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) April 1, 2026 - NASA's Artemis 2 mission is set to be the first crewed flyby of the Moon in more than half a century, and could launch as soon as Wednesday.

Here is what to know about the highly anticipated mission that will usher in a new chapter of space exploration:

- The goal -

Artemis is the legacy of initiatives launched in the 2000s to succeed the American space shuttles. Those efforts survived several presidencies until President Donald Trump officially established the program during his first White House term.

It aims to return Americans to the Moon to establish a long-term presence there and pave the way for eventual missions to Mars.

The coming mission is intended to last approximately 10 days, and will mark the first crewed Artemis flight.

The second phase follows the Artemis 1 mission of 2022, when an uncrewed spacecraft flew around the Moon.

NASA intends to now verify that both that spacecraft and the rocket are in working order before attempting a lunar landing, a milestone now scheduled for the Artemis 4 mission in 2028.

Unlike in the Apollo program, the US spaceflight effort that landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969, NASA this time is collaborating both with private industry and other countries, notably in Europe.

This includes SpaceX and Blue Origin, rival companies founded respectively by the billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, which are tasked with developing lunar landers.

- The team -

Four astronauts -- three Americans and one Canadian -- will take flight in this major mission.

Reid Wiseman, a 50-year-old former naval aviator and test pilot who was also a deputy chief of NASA's astronaut office, will be in command.

Victor Glover, 49, also served in the US Navy. He will pilot the spacecraft while also becoming the first Black man -- and first non-white person -- to travel to the Moon.

And engineer-by-training Christina Koch, 47, will become the first woman to participate in a lunar mission.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen, a 50-year-old former fighter pilot, will become the first non-American to fly around the Moon.

- The countdown begins-

The crew will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft, perched atop NASA's powerful SLS rocket.

The orange-and-white rocket stands 98 meters (321 feet) tall, approximately 10 meters shorter than the Apollo-era Saturn V rocket.

It will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The planned trajectory is hyper-precise, and can take place only during very specific time periods.

- The trajectory -

After liftoff, the team will not immediately head towards the Moon, instead entering orbit around Earth.

During this time the astronauts will conduct various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of the spacecraft -- it has never carried humans before -- before venturing further.

They will also test its manual piloting capabilities during docking simulations.

If all trials are successful, Orion will then provide the necessary thrust to leave Earth's orbit and head to the Moon.

For several days, the astronauts will conduct additional tests and experiments while en route.

Once they reach the Moon they will fly over its far side.

At this moment communications with Earth will be interrupted: the four astronauts are expected to become the human beings who have traveled farthest from Earth, breaking the Apollo 13 record.

Their observations should help NASA choose a landing site for Artemis 4, which will venture to the Moon's south pole, where no human has ever been.

- The return -

Artemis 2 will then follow a so-called "free-return" trajectory, designed to use the Moon's gravity to send it back towards Earth without propulsion.

This part of the journey will last approximately three or four days, punctuated by re-entry into the atmosphere -- one of the mission's most delicate maneuvers.

During Artemis 1, the heat shield protecting the spacecraft eroded in unexpected ways, according to a NASA technical report.

The agency has adjusted the spacecraft's trajectory so that the angle of re-entry into the atmosphere should be slightly less severe for the shield.

Once that stage is complete, parachutes will slow the spacecraft before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.