Artemis II launch livestream: Watch the historic NASA launch live
NASA is set to send four astronauts on a mission around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, and viewers can watch the launch countdown live on April 1.
Artemis II is a test flight of the U.S. space agency's Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. The mission follows Artemis I, the successful uncrewed inaugural voyage of the spacecraft in 2022.
NASA will stream the launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its website, social media, and its YouTube channel. Live coverage of filling the rocket's tanks with fuel is expected to begin at 7:45 a.m. ET Wednesday on Youtube. Viewers can watch the event on NASA+, the space agency's free streaming service, starting at 12:50 p.m. ET.
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The broadcast will track the four-person crew — Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen — as they board Orion. The actual two-hour launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. ET.
This mission is designed as a roughly 10-day deep space excursion that will loop around Earth before slingshotting around the moon and returning home. If successful, it would mark a major step toward future missions that aim to land astronauts on the lunar surface and establish a moon base there.
The flight also carries historic milestones. Koch is set to become the first woman to travel to the moon, and Glover the first Black astronaut to do so. Hansen, a Canadian astronaut, would be the first non-American assigned to a lunar mission. Their journey's estimated distance of 248,700 miles also could set a new record for farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.
Watch the launch livestream here beginning at 7:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, April 1.
NASA's live coverage typically includes real-time updates from the firing room, views from the launchpad, and commentary explaining each stage of the countdown. The agency will also provide rolling updates on its official Artemis blog.
The forecast so far shows an 80 percent chance of good weather conditions for launch day. Mission managers are mostly concerned about cloud coverage and high winds.
If the launch attempt is called off for weather or technical issues, the agency could try again any day through April 6. There is one other launch opportunity at the end of this month on April 30. NASA has declined to provide future launch windows beyond April to the public.
Topics NASA
Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds. Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards, including first place for her Sex in Space series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email protected] or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers.
