Artemis II successfully launches for historic Moon mission

NASA's https://www.axios.com/local/huntsville/2026/03/16/nasa-artemis-mission-changes-2028-moon-landing-sls" target="_blank">Artemis II Moon mission successfully launched from Florida's John F. Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday afternoon at 6:35pm ET.

Why it matters: Artemis II's planned crewed lunar flyby is set to mark the closest humanity has come to the Moon since the Apollo days.

• It's also a key step towards NASA's grand ambition to return human boots to lunar soil, and the https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump administration's dreams of a permanent Moon base.

The latest: President Trump congratulated NASA and the astronauts on the successful launch during his address to the nation on Wednesday night.

• "These are brave people," Trump said. "God bless those four unbelievable astronauts."

Driving the news: https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/04/01/nasa-s-moonshot" target="_blank">NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, plus Canada's Jeremy Hansen, are just beginning what's expected to be a 10-day mission around the Moon and back.

• Artemis II is designed as a "dress rehearsal" before a lunar landing planned for later this decade. (Apollo 8 and 10 served similar roles before Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong's "one giant leap.")
• It marks the second launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the first crewed mission for the Lockheed Martin/Airbus Orion spacecraft.

Between the lines: Artemis II is expected to make several bits of space history.

• Glover and Koch will become the first person of color and woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit, respectively.
• Hansen will become the first non-American to voyage beyond that mark.

Yes, but: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently https://apnews.com/article/nasa-moon-artemis-astronauts-83132fc4f86c3491984844fc309e25d2" target="_blank">rejiggered the Artemis schedule, shifting Artemis III from a lunar landing to a test flight of one or both of SpaceX and Blue Origin's lunar landers in low Earth orbit.

• The next crewed Moon landing is now planned for Artemis IV in 2028.

What's next: The agency plans to follow that up with https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-unveils-initiatives-to-achieve-americas-national-space-policy/" target="_blank">yearly Moon visits to build a permanent lunar base.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with President Trump's comments.