Artemis II launches astronauts around the Moon
NASA sent a crew beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo era, a key step toward returning humans to the lunar surface.
NASA launched four astronauts on a journey around the Moon aboard its Artemis II mission, the first time humans have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit since the final Apollo flight more than half a century ago, and a pivotal step in the agency's effort to return people to the lunar surface.
The crew lifted off atop the powerful Space Launch System rocket in their Orion capsule, beginning a mission designed to carry them on a wide loop around the far side of the Moon before returning to Earth. Unlike the later Artemis flights, this mission was not intended to land, but to test the spacecraft and its systems with a crew aboard for the first time.
During the flight the astronauts travelled farther from Earth than any humans before them, a record that drew wonder from observers around the world, before swinging around the Moon and setting course for home. The mission concluded with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams retrieved the capsule and crew.
Artemis II was a crucial milestone in a programme aimed at establishing a sustained human presence at the Moon and, eventually, sending astronauts to Mars. It paved the way for a subsequent mission intended to land astronauts, including the first woman and first person of colour, near the lunar south pole.
The flight rekindled public excitement about human space exploration and underscored a renewed international interest in the Moon, with several nations and private companies pursuing their own lunar ambitions.