Humans Are Going Back to the Moon on April 1 — Everything You Need to Know About NASA's Artemis II

Humans Are Going Back to the Moon on April 1 — Everything You Need to Know About NASA's Artemis II

For the first time since December 1972, human beings are going to travel to the Moon.

Not to land — not yet. But to fly around it, to see the far side up close, to travel farther from Earth than any human has ever gone, and to come home safely so that the next crew can actually land.

NASA is now aiming to launch the historic Artemis II mission on April 1 as soon as 6:24 p.m. ET. In the event of a delay, there are six additional windows for liftoff on April 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 30. (U.S. News & World Report)

Eight days from now, America returns to the Moon. And this time, it's not coming back the same way it left.

What Is Artemis II?

Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program — the first crewed deep-space and lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. The 10-day mission will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth. (NPR)

Glover will become the first person of color, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-US citizen to leave Earth orbit and travel to the Moon's vicinity. At a distance of roughly 5,000 miles beyond the Moon, Artemis II is set to be both the furthest and fastest crewed space mission in history. (NPR)

Let that sink in. The first woman. The first person of color. The first non-American. All going to the Moon together. In a single mission.

The Rocket Is Already on the Pad

At 11:21 a.m. EDT on Friday March 20, NASA's Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Pad 39B after an 11-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Moving at a maximum speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the 322-foot-tall Moon rocket and spacecraft slowly and steadily toward the pad. (MPR News)

Standing 322 feet tall and carrying over 700,000 gallons of super-chilled propellant, the Space Launch System is the most powerful rocket America has built since the Saturn V that carried Apollo astronauts to the Moon half a century ago.

It is currently sitting on the same launch complex — Pad 39B — that has watched some of the most historic moments in American space history. And on April 1, it will create one more.

A Road Full of Obstacles

Getting to this point was anything but smooth.

NASA encountered several problems during testing, including running into issues with hydrogen leaks while filling up the SLS rocket with propellant during the wet dress rehearsal. The delay required teams to review data and conduct additional tests. (TRADING ECONOMICS)

Just as NASA seemed to have its arms around the leaky fuel problem, the agency ran into a new issue in late February: Helium wasn't flowing properly to the upper part of the rocket. Helium is crucial because it's used to clean out propellant lines and help pressurize fuel tanks. That issue took possible March liftoff dates off the table and prompted NASA to roll the rocket back off the launchpad for servicing. (U.S. News & World Report)

NASA officials announced the new April 1 target date following the conclusion of a major review to determine if the mission was ready for flight after the agency had to postpone earlier targets. (Al Jazeera)

The problems have been fixed. The rocket is on the pad. The crew is in Florida. And the countdown is running.

What Will the Crew Actually Do?

The Artemis II mission isn't just a joyride around the Moon — it's a critical test flight that will pave the way for the first lunar landing since 1972.

The journey to the lunar vicinity is expected to last three days. Astronauts will spend one day in lunar observation of the far side of the Moon, with some parts seen up close by humans for the first time. (NPR)

NASA will also fly a payload titled AVATAR — A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response — which can mimic individual astronaut organs, with Artemis II marking the first time AVATAR is tested outside of the International Space Station and Van Allen Belt. (NPR)

Every system tested on Artemis II feeds directly into Artemis III — the mission that will actually land Americans on the Moon for the first time since Gene Cernan stepped off the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

Why This Matters for Every American

As of March 2026, the crewed Artemis II lunar flyby mission is scheduled for April 2026, followed by Artemis III — the first lunar landing — for mid-2027, Artemis IV for early 2028, and Artemis V for late 2028. NASA plans approximately annual lunar landings thereafter. (CNBC)

America is building a permanent human presence on the Moon. Not as a destination, but as a stepping stone — to Mars, to the outer solar system, and to a future that most people alive today will live to see.

It starts on April 1. Eight days from now.

"As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, Artemis II is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon's surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send astronauts to Mars." (MPR News)

Fifty-four years after the last human footprint was left on the Moon, America is going back.

Watch the skies on April 1.

Stay with PopScope USA for full Artemis II launch coverage — countdown updates, crew profiles, and everything happening as America returns to the Moon.

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