Artemis II Astronauts

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026, sending NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion spacecraft on a planned test flight around the Moon and back. Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed flight test of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.