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Artemis II’s journey around the moon and back is approaching fast, and it’s a mission that may send humans physically farther out in space than we’ve ever gone before.
CBC News will have full coverage of the voyage of all four crew members aboard, including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.
They will travel aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and inside the Orion spacecraft, taking off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
When are they going?
Yeah, so that’s the tricky part.
The mission has several opportunities, or launch windows, depending on risk and system check clearing. Bear in mind that planned opportunities for this past February and March were both delayed due to hydrogen and helium issues. Weather is another factor, but NASA says things look like an “80 per cent go” for April 1.
The next launch window for NASA’s Artemis II mission has opened with four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, slated for a trip around the moon to test the Orion spacecraft ahead of future planned missions to land on the surface.
But to get the right orbital trajectory to the moon and back, it needs to launch at night (at least for East Coasters). So, consider some coffee.
The first launch attempt window is Wednesday, April 1 from 6:24 p.m. to 8:24 p.m. ET.
If the launch is scrubbed — and that can happen at any time — the next available opportunities are every night from Thursday, April 2 to Monday, April 6.
- Are you going to Florida to watch the Artemis II launch? We want to hear from you. Send an email to [email protected].
And if you really want to get into T-minus territory, NASA has a detailed breakdown of those crucial minutes before liftoff.
How can I keep up?
It’s rocket science, yes — but our teams are ready to bring you in on every step of this launch.
CBC Science reporter Nicole Mortillaro is at Kennedy Space Center with reporters Paul Hunter and Karen Pauls, ready with reaction, highlights and mission details across radio, TV and digital platforms.
Detailed online coverage starts two hours before launch at CBCNews.ca, including a livestream of the launch. We’ll bring you the beat-by-beat updates as well as recaps of what’s happened so far.
Hanomansing Tonight and The National will have live broadcast specials starting around 6 p.m. ET and streamed on YouTube. Ian Hanomansing will be live from Kennedy Space Center.
Coverage also begins tonight, March 31 , across CBC News Network and CBC Radio.
Where exactly are they going?
To the moon, but not landing on it. Artemis II’s trajectory is a test of crucial systems and how they respond with astronauts on board.
Originally, it was supposed to be the final test before the next mission — Artemis III — would land astronauts on the moon in 2028. Those plans were recently shaken up by NASA, changing the third Artemis mission to be a low-Earth orbit test and turning Artemis IV — still in 2028 — to be the one that lands on the lunar surface.
Why are they going?
The Artemis missions are meant to be a way of continued presence, science and economic activity on the moon — in the hope of using that knowledge to eventually get to Mars.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wants Americans back at the forefront of space exploration, recently speeding up plans for a moon base and pausing the interim step of establishing an orbital spaceport called Lunar Gateway.
The urgency, he said, was to restore muscle memory and the speed of launches after years of delays. Others point to the progress China has made in its own lunar ambitions, hoping to put its own astronauts on the moon by 2030.
But one step at a time. For now, the furthest ahead is Artemis II — a mission that will last approximately 10 days before splashing back down in the Pacific Ocean.
