NASA’s Artemis II mission is planned to last approximately 10 days, marking the first crewed lunar journey since the Apollo era. Four astronauts will embark on a high-speed voyage around the moon and back, setting the stage for future missions aimed at landing humans on the lunar surface later this decade.
The mission is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System, the agency’s most powerful rocket to date. The launch window opens on April 1, with several backup opportunities available in the following days, depending on weather conditions, technical readiness, and range availability.
Following liftoff, the Orion crew capsule will separate from the rocket’s upper stage and enter a highly elliptical orbit around Earth. During the first one to two days, the crew will perform thorough systems checks in high Earth orbit. These checks will verify Orion’s life-support, propulsion, navigation, and communication systems to confirm the spacecraft’s readiness for deep space travel.
Once these evaluations are complete, Orion’s propulsion system will execute the translunar injection burn, a critical engine maneuver that propels the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and onto a trajectory toward the moon.
Over the next two days, the crew will coast toward the moon, continuing to monitor spacecraft systems as they venture farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight. Mission controllers will oversee communications and navigation performance during this deep-space transit.
In a significant development, Orion will perform a lunar flyby by passing behind the moon on a “free-return” trajectory. This path naturally swings the spacecraft back toward Earth without requiring additional propulsion. During this phase, Orion will reach its farthest distance from Earth.
Following the moon flyby, the astronauts will spend several days returning home while conducting further deep-space tests. These evaluations will include power systems, thermal controls, and crew operations beyond low Earth orbit.
As Orion approaches Earth, it will jettison key components before re-entering the atmosphere at speeds near 25,000 miles per hour (40,233 kph). Testing the capsule’s heat shield during this high-energy re-entry is a primary mission objective. The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams will be ready to retrieve the crew.
