NASA set to launch its Artemis II lunar mission

The countdown for Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in over 53 years, has started at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Orion capsule is expected to launch on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT, carrying four astronauts (three American and one Canadian). The 10-day test flight will take them around the moon and back. They will journey further into space than any humans in history.

The mission serves as a critical evaluation of the Orion capsule’s life-support systems and navigation, paving the way for a lunar landing now targeted for 2028.

NASA’s lunar program represents a massive federal investment, with costs estimated at $93 billion since 2012. It also faced several delays.

The mission is also a strategic effort to reassert American leadership amid a growing space race with China, which aims to land its own crew on the moon by 2030.