The countdown to the first manned flight to the moon in more than 50 years has begun, NASA announced Monday.
The local countdown began at 4:44 p.m. ET on Monday for the scheduled launch of the Artemis II mission in just two days. Read on for full details on how to watch a live stream of the launch.
Artemis II will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and mark the first crewed launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
On board Orion will be NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency).
Hansen is on his first space trip, while the other members have all taken part in a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew will spend 10 days in space testing the spacecraft’s systems as it flies around the moon before returning home.
A successful mission will put NASA on track to land two humans on the lunar surface with Artemis IV, currently scheduled for 2028. Looking further into the future, NASA plans to build a lunar base on the lunar surface where astronauts can live and work for extended periods of time, similar to what they do on the ISS today.
Here’s how to watch
NASA plans to launch the Artemis II mission from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. ET.
A livestream of the fueling operations will begin on Wednesday at 7:45 a.m. ET on NASA’s YouTube channel, which will continue to cover the preparations and the launch itself. Full launch coverage on NASA+ begins Wednesday at 12:50 p.m. ET. You can watch the same live stream on NASA’s X account, as well as on Facebook and Twitch. The video player embedded at the top of this page contains the same feed.
It is possible that a technical issue or weather concerns could disrupt the launch schedule. We’ll update here as soon as we hear anything.
What to expect
The livestream shows crew members as they make their way to the rocket, glimpses of the inside and outside of the Orion capsule, and commentary explaining everything that’s going on. Multiple cameras will follow the SLS rocket on its way into space, with communications between the crew and mission control also being broadcast as part of the live stream.
