Eager to see the first human moon mission in more than 50 years? You’ll have plenty of ways to watch a live stream as NASA launches four astronauts on a historic lunar journey.
Ahead, the crew of a mission known as Artemis II will set a series of firsts: among them will be the first woman, first Black man and first Canadian to fly toward the moon, going farther in space – about 250,000 miles away – than any human ever has. Along the way, they’ll see views of the far side of the moon from up to 6,000 miles above the surface that not even the Apollo astronauts witnessed.
And it all begins with liftoff from Cape, Canaveral, Florida.
Here’s a quick rundown of what to know about the Artemis II mission and how to watch liftoff.
What time is the Artemis II rocket launch?
NASA is working toward a Wednesday, April 1, launch of its Artemis II mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Hitching a ride atop NASA’s 322-foot Space Launch System rocket, the Orion capsule the astronauts will ride toward the moon is due to get off the ground during a two-hour launch window opening at 6:24 p.m. ET.
The weather conditions have an 80% chance of being favorable for a launch, according to NASA. But if bad weather or any other factors – such as an unforeseen issue with the spacecraft – scuttle liftoff, NASA has other backup dates available April 2-6, as well as April 30.
Artemis II launch countdown
How to watch NASA coverage of Artemis II moon mission
NASA will provide all-day coverage April 1 of Artemis II preparations leading up to the launch of the towering Space Launch System rocket from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
Livestreams will be available throughout the day on Amazon Prime, NASA’s YouTube channel and NASA+, the agency’s free streaming service.
Future coverage on NASA+ will also be available during significant mission milestones, including lunar flyby attempts and their return to and landing back at Earth.
Artemis rocket launch to take 4 astronauts around the moon
Under its Artemis campaign, NASA is aiming to return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions came to an end in 1972.
NASA is looking to establish a permanent foothold on the lunar south pole, using a series of crewed and uncrewed missions in the years ahead to build a moon base. From there, the first humans could be venturing to Mars.
As a 10-day moon-circling mission, Artemis II primarily serves as a test flight, with the four-person crew testing systems and hardware ahead of a future landing.
In 2027, another crew of astronauts is due to ride Orion to Earth orbit to test docking capabilities with one or both of the commercial lunar landers being developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. A lunar landing would then come in 2028 under Artemis IV.
Meet the Artemis II crew
The four crew members of Artemis II arrived Friday, March 27 in Florida after entering standard preflight quarantine to avoid illnesses. Here’s a look:
NASA astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot from Pomona, California, who flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Artemis II launch for moon mission today. How to watch live stream
