Artemis II astronauts are home safe

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Artemis II astronauts land safely after Moon mission

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen returned to Earth on Friday. Here’s everything that happened.

The Integrity astronauts walked across the flight deck of the USS John P. Murtha after exiting the helicopters that had transported them from the Pacific Ocean. Their next stop is the ship’s medical bay for an examination after their 10 days in space.

All four Artmeis II astronauts are safe after landing in the Pacific Ocean. The crew was airlifted from a raft to the USS John P. Murtha.

The four Artemis II astronauts are back on Earth and, if social networks are to be believed, their fellow citizens are delighted.

“I watched the splashdown with my son and for a very brief moment felt hope for humanity,” Jer Thorp wrote on BlueSky.

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For some reason, many land cats seemed to enjoy watching the water landing.

“Nicky watched the Artemis II #splashdown,” Mary Jo Richards wrote on Bluesky, including a photo of her cat intently following the TV coverage. “In fact, she watched it so closely that I couldn’t see the actual contact with the water. Thanks, Nicky.”

Famous people also watched. The New York Mets shared a video of fans cheering the splashdown shown on the giant video screen at Citi Field.

And Apple CEO Tim Cook congratulated the team for

“Congratulations to Artemis II on a successful mission!” Cook wrote. “You’ve beautifully captured the wonders of space and our planet, taking iPhone photography to new heights, and we’re grateful that you’ve shared it with the world. Your work continues to inspire us all to think differently. Welcome home!”

The Artemis II astronauts are transported one by one from a raft called the Porch.

The four people in the image above wearing orange flight suits in the raft are the Artemis II astronauts. The entire crew is officially off the Integrity for the first time since Wednesday April. 1.

The Artemis II astronauts exit the Integrity capsule. The U.S. Navy and a recovery team extract the crew from the vehicle and help them onto a special raft called the Porch. From there, each astronaut will be flown to a helicopter.

A raft connected to the Integrity, called the front porch, was inflated. US Navy divers erected the porch, which allows Artemis II astronauts to acclimatize to Earth’s gravity and the ocean.

For the first time in more than nine days, the side hatch of the Integrity capsule is open. US Navy divers enter the cabin to access each Artemis II astronaut before removing them from the capsule.

After traveling beyond the far side of the Moon, sharing live video via direct laser communications with Earth, one of the first things the Integrity crew experienced after splashdown was… phone problems. “No joy on the SAR radio or satellite phone,” one of the crew members said while coordinating with recovery teams.

“For the SAT phone, we’ll try to call you,” Mission Control said as the crew explained they were restarting communications by holding down a sequence of buttons.

Welcome to the Earth that most of us deal with every day!

Integrity is powered down to prepare for recovery in the Pacific Ocean.

The Integrity capsule crashed in the Pacific Ocean.

The Integrity capsule’s parachutes are open and will slow the craft to about 30 mph and eventually to zero as it lands in the Pacific Ocean.

Cheers erupt in the mission control room as communications resume with Integrity.

Here is a visualization shared by NASA of the Integrity capsule re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and plasma forming around the capsule.

As planned, the Integrity capsule entered ed in a 6-minute communications outage after entering Earth’s atmosphere. During this time, no communication or data comes from the capsule.

In another important step toward landing, the Orion capsule separated from the service module.

If you’re in Southern California and close enough to the splashdown, you might hear a sonic boom as the spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.

“The sonic boom is expected between 5:00 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Pacific Time today, April 10,” the US Geological Survey said on social media.

If you hear it, the USGS wants to know.

“Share your experience using our Did You Feel It survey so we can understand the spatial extent of the boom,” the agency said on X.

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission will take anti-nausea medications to cope with the speed of their rapid descent to Earth, which is expected to peak at about 24,661.21 miles per hour at 7:53 p.m. ET / 4:54 p.m. PT.

For their return to 1G – gravity on Earth – they also take anti-inflammatory drugs. It will be the first time since 1972 that astronauts have landed in water, and with landing in the choppy Pacific Ocean (just a few miles off the coast of San Diego), anti-nausea medications will also help improve the new surface.

The crew will all receive full medical examinations immediately after landing.

Shuttle Integrity is now just 14,000 nautical miles from Earth, and landing will take place in less than two hours. The Earth appears as a semi-circle on the livestream and still seems very far away.

The next big event will be the separation of the service module, which will eject at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT), before reentry at 7:57 p.m. ET (4:57 p.m. PT).

NASA’s Flight Dynamics team predicts that the Orion capsule will reach a maximum speed of 24,661.21 mph (about Mach 33) at 7:54 p.m. ET. The actual speed will be confirmed after re-entry, but if the estimate is correct, it would mean Artemis II would be 130 mph slower than the record set in 1969 by the returning Apollo 10 crew.

We can see some truly breathtaking views as the Orion spacecraft gets closer to Earth. Landing of the Artemis II is expected to take place at 5:07 p.m. Pacific Time (8:07 p.m. ET).

NASA just published on X that the Orion spacecraft is less than 35,000 miles from Earth. The message indicates that the weather looks favorable for landing.

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What do you do if you’re in a spaceship on a 10-day mission to the Moon and back? You take a selfie (or that didn’t happen). NASA shared several images from a camera installed on Orion’s solar array wing, showing the Artemis II crew through the capsule’s windows. You have to look carefully, but they are there. And it’s so delicious when you find them.

We talked a lot this week about beautiful photos the Artemis II crew captured on the latest iPhones, but did you know this isn’t the first time Apple products have been used in space?

Astronauts and NASA have long relied on Apple products: the first email sent from space was sent on a Mac. Space technology is not just rocket science; these are the devices, software and accessories that many of us use here on Earth.

CNET Apple expert Bridget Carey walks us through the long history of Apple products used in spaceflight. You can watch the video above and on CNET’s YouTube channel.

Today, the Artemis II astronauts are returning home. They will crash just off the coast of California, near San Diego, around 5:07 p.m. PT (8:07 p.m. ET) after re-entering the atmosphere 2,000 miles above the Pacific Ocean, southeast of Hawaii. Here is the sequence of events presented by NASA:

At approximately 4:33 p.m. PT, the Orion capsule will separate from its service module, and 4 minutes later will make a final trajectory adjustment, followed by a “series of roll maneuvers” to move away from the jettisoned equipment. Just before re-entering the atmosphere, it will reach its maximum speed of around 23,864 mph.

At approximately 4:53 p.m. PT, a 6-minute communications outage will begin as the spacecraft hurtles toward Earth, with astronauts feeling a force of up to 3.9 G. Temperatures around the capsule will peak at around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

At approximately 5:03 p.m. PT, the spacecraft will deploy its small stabilizing parachutes at 22,000 feet to begin slowing the descent, followed a minute later by the three larger main parachutes at 6,000 feet. Three minutes later, landing.

The astronauts will not leave Orion immediately. They will be extracted within two hours of splashdown and then transported by helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport ship.

There are so many amazing things about the Artemis II astronauts moon pictures. Some were caught with a Nikon D5others with a GoPro Hero 4 Black, and still others with an iPhone 17 Pro. CNET wanted in on some of that moon photography action and posted this video of the editors taking a photo of the moon with the Galaxy S26S26 Plus and S26 Ultra — they didn’t even need to go into space to do it. (OK, the photos of the moon Artemis II are much better.)

While cleaning the crew cabin in preparation for splashdown tomorrow afternoon, the astronauts apparently kicked up enough dust to set off the smoke detector aboard the Integrity capsule. NASA’s Mission Control Center called the astronauts to ask about “a significant spike in smoke detection data” they had observed.

“We’ve kicked up a fair amount of particles. I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of dust here, but I’m just digging around and there’s a fair amount here,” said Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman. “If it was just a smoke detector detection, I think you’re fine.”

This happens frequently on the International Space Station, according to NASA, and smoke detection data has quickly become normalized.

NASA then “chose to disable leak detection in the cabin” while the astronauts worked to arrange everything in the crew cabin.

“Fake fire cleanup is complete and your leak detection is reactivated,” Mission Control told the astronauts at 4:50 p.m. ET.

NASA also updated the total distance traveled by the Artemis II mission between launch and splashdown: 694,481 miles.

Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is the first Canadian astronaut to be sent to the Moon, and he represents his country in a very Canadian way: sharing maple cookies with the crew. But after a jar of Nutella appeared on live camera and captivated Earth’s viewers, Prime Minister Mark Carney had to ask Hansen: What did he prefer to use on his pancakes in the morning, Nutella or maple syrup?

Hansen confidently said maple syrup. “Absolutely,” Hansen said as his teammates laughed. “We definitely have him on board, and he can do another guest appearance.”

You may have heard that the Orion spacecraft has a new and improved toilet…and that the toilet malfunctioned during the first few days of its journey. This “mission critical” piece of technology (yes, that’s the real designation) was finally fixed, thanks to mission specialist Christina Koch. Now, toilet paper company Charmin is hoping to offer astronauts a little reward for their troubles when they return to the ground.

Charmin gave each of the four crew members a year’s worth of free toilet paper. “We’re sorry to hear that your mission has led to some unexpected turmoil in the bathroom department,” the company wrote in an Instagram post.

“But don’t worry, we’ll be ready for your return with a year’s supply of Charmin to ensure a soft landing the next time you launch one. After all, every moon deserves to enjoy the ride.”

Charley Crockett’s Lonesome Drifter woke the crew on their ninth and final full day in space. Thursday is devoted to preparation for re-entry and landing planned for Friday. Here’s what the crew will do.

Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will store the equipment they used during the mission, removing nets from cargo and lockers to ensure everything is secure. They will reinstall and adjust the crew seats. The entire crew will spend the day reviewing a slew of information needed for re-entry, including the latest weather briefings, recovery force status, planned schedule and post-landing operations.

At approximately 9:53 p.m. ET Thursdaythey will perform a second return trajectory correction burn. This is a procedure as they rev up the engines and bring Orion back to Earth on track for re-entry tomorrow. You can follow the NASA livestream.

THE The Artemis II crew got personal during a press conference Wednesday evening. Speaking to journalists around the world, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen talked about life on Orion, re-entry plans and the emotional announcement of the crater’s name.

“That was the high point of the mission for me,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman said the other crew members first contacted Wiseman while they were in quarantine before the mission with the idea name a lunar crater Carrollin honor of Wiseman’s wife, who died of cancer in 2020. Moments after breaking the Apollo 13 record for longest space voyage on Monday, that’s exactly what the crew did.

In addition to being the first crewed mission to the Moon in 54 years, the Artemis II crew achieved another first: it was the first crew to have four members, one more than previous lunar missions. The spaceship they live in, named Orion, is partly due to this. It is larger than previous models. Still, Koch told reporters that they crossed paths “100 percent of the time.”

“Everything we do here is a four-person activity, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Koch joked.

Asked about plans for Friday’s scheduled water landing, Glover, the crew’s pilot, said he has been thinking about reentry since April 3, 2023, when the crew was first confirmed to depart on the mission.

“At one of the first press conferences, we were asked, ‘What are we looking forward to?'” Glover said. “And I said ‘splashdown’. And it’s kind of humorous, but it’s also literal, that we have to go back. There’s so much data that you’ve already seen, but all GOOD stuff comes back with us.”

You can watch the full press conference in the video below and on NASA’s YouTube channel.

Yesterday, the Orion crew had an audio-only call with their fellow astronauts aboard the International Space Station. And as far as conversations between astronauts go, this one was like any other conversation between co-workers: it quickly turned into what everyone ate for lunch.

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman said they were rehydrating sweet and sour chicken and having Kona coffee with cream. Then he asked the ISS: “We want to know what you eat, and we will reflect you today.”

Of all the cuisines discussed, the consensus among Artemis and ISS astronauts was that mango salad was good. Listen to some of the conversations shared by NASA on its Instagram page.

During the moon flyby on Monday, the Sphere in Las Vegas has a new look as a lunar neighbor. If you watch the Instagram video, you’ll see a spherical theater that looks like the moon, craters and all, while a spaceship floats around it.

Turns out this was also an accurate depiction of the hover.

“What you see on the Exosphere was created in collaboration with NASA, who provided us with a 3D model of the spacecraft and unique sound clips from the April 1 launch to help us design the moon, spacecraft, and flight path to match the real version,” the Instagram post reads.

When they weren’t setting records for traveling further from Earth than any human before, the Artemis II crew made some excellent videos for social media. The astronauts created their own parody of the opening credits of the ’80s sitcom Full House. Instead of Full House, they’re calling it Full Capsule.

It is day 8 of 10 of the Artemis II mission. Today’s wake-up song is an 80s classic, Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. You can check out all the wake-up songs on NASA’s brand new playlist at Spotify.

Here’s what awaits you today:

• In progress: Clothing tests for orthostatic intolerances. Space travel takes a toll on astronauts’ bodies, so the crew will test new clothing to wear under their spacesuits to help maintain blood pressure and circulation.
• 5 p.m. ET: NASA daily press conference, available to everyone on YouTube.
• 9:45 p.m. ET: Press conference with the Artemis II crew. This 20-minute talk will also be streamed live on YouTube, and we will add this link once shared.
• 10:55 p.m. ET: Manual piloting demonstration.

The manual piloting demonstration will allow the crew to manually guide the spacecraft to a designated target, evaluating its behavior as well as the navigation and control systems.

“By manually piloting the capsule in a tail-to-sun attitude, the crew can manage thermal conditions and power generation,” explains NASA.

If you’ve been following us for the past eight days, you probably know that the Artemis II crew starts their day with a specific wake-up song. This fun tradition stretches from Chappell Roan to CeeLo Green and Glass Animals. You can now listen to this official NASA playlist on Spotify.

(No, Ariana Grande’s NASA hasn’t been included yet, but I hope that changes soon.)

Monday’s lunar flyby was accompanied by a new distance record (the longest distance ever traveled by a human) and a solar eclipse. But the Artemis II crew also took amazing images, which NASA shared today. Take a look.

After a jar of Nutella floated on camera inside Orion during Tuesday’s Artemis II livestream, fans of space and the chocolate-hazelnut spread were quick to joke. Now Nutella is having fun with social media posts saying, “Now enjoyed in space.”

Many brands have shared space-themed posts since Artemis II left Earth last week. KitKat, another chocolate company, joked that “missing” candy is in orbit. After NASA Releases Stunning Space Photos of Astronauts iPhone 17 Pro Maxtech critic Marques Brownlee and others pointed out that Apple had the perfect opportunity for a new ad for its “Shot on iPhone” campaign.

And there must be at least one Taylor Swift fan working at NASA, since the company’s official X account referenced “Miss Americana and the Broken Prince” in a new response to a 2010 tweet from Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce.

But the floating Nutella was actually just a coincidence. NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told Futurism that this was not product placement, stating, “NASA does not select meals or crew food in association with brand partnerships.”

In a world where everything is commodified and too many internet jokes are manufactured by marketing agencies, it’s refreshing to learn that the Artemis II crew loves Nutella so much that they brought it into space to snack on.

You don’t need any fancy photo equipment take a great photo, as the Artemis II astronauts proved this week when NASA shared a series of stunning shots, many of which were captured on iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Despite being an essential device, smartphones have only recently been cleared for use in space. The latest iPhone features Apple’s best cameras, including what CNET’s Patrick Holland called “a killer selfie camera” in his review. And if you’re in space, you’re obviously going to take selfies.

You can check out all the best photos of Artemis II in CNET’s roundup and the official NASA media gallery.

• 1:23 p.m.: The Orion leaves the lunar sphere of influence.
• 2:40 p.m.: The Artemis II crew will speak with astronauts aboard the International Space Station during a 15-minute audio-only ship-to-ship call, which can be heard on NASA’s YouTube channel.
• 3:00 p.m.: Debriefing with mission control science officers.
• Post-scientific debriefing: Staggered rest periods, giving astronauts time to rest and recharge.
• 4:30 p.m.: NASA Mission Status Briefing.
• 9:03 p.m.: The Orion’s thruster ignites for a backward thrust — the first of three course-correction burns.

In this selfie taken from space, the Artemis II crew wears eclipse glasses – the first use on the moon – to protect their eyes from a solar eclipse during their lunar flyby. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking part or all of the sun.

These are the glasses made by NASA for the 2023 annual eclipse and the Total eclipse of 2024. From the photo, it looks like the astronauts are wearing the same paper, lightweight glasses as the rest of us.

The Artemis and Apollo missions are linked in many ways. The Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s successfully landed humans on the Moon, and today’s Artemis missions are working to return them there. (Artemis and Apollo are also twins in Greek mythology.)

So, on Monday morning, the missions were mixed in a particular way. The Artemis crew was awakened by the song Good Morning by Mandisa and TobyMac, and then by a recorded message that Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell recorded for the mission before Lovell’s death in 2025.

Here is what the message said:

“Hello Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood! When Frank Borman, Bill Anders and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we had humanity’s first glimpse of the Moon and had a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I am proud to pass this torch to you – as you circle the Moon and set the stage for missions to Mars… for the benefit of all It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you – good luck and good luck from all of us here on good Earth.

Lovell served as the command module pilot of Apollo 8 in 1968. That mission circled the Moon 10 times and returned without landing. He also commanded the famous Apollo 13 mission in 1970, which suffered a critical failure en route but looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth.

Lovell died in August at the age of 97 and recorded the message to the Artemis crew sometime before his death.

On Tuesday morning, as the Artemis II crew is in the early stages of returning to Earth, NASA released a pretty “Earth” view of our planet sinking below the Moon’s horizon. NASA says the Orion spacecraft will leave the lunar sphere of influence around 1:25 p.m. ET today.

During its official NASA live broadcast, Mission Control announced that all flight controllers and the flight director had “turned in their Artemis II patches. We are on Earth and ready to take you home.”

After traveling to the far side of the Moon and losing contact with Earth over the past 40 minutes, Orion has resumed communications with NASA Mission Control. While out of range, the Artemis II mission astronauts got as close as they would to the moon (within 4,067 miles of the moon’s surface) and set a record for the farthest human being from Earth (252,756 miles).

Earlier Monday, the Artemis II mission became the farthest distance ever flown by a human from Earth, breaking the previous record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, which traveled 248,655 miles. After surpassing the previous record, the Orion and its crew continued to move further away from Earth.

HAS 7:02 p.m. ET / 4:02 p.m. PTthe Artemis II mission reached 252,756 miles from Earth, which is now the new record for the greatest distance traveled by humans.

“This milestone puts the crew 4,111 miles farther from Earth than the Apollo 13 mission in 1970,” NASA wrote on its live blog.

The spacecraft and crew now begin their return trajectory.

The astronauts of the Integrity capsule are now as close to the Moon as during the Artemis II mission from 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. They are just 4,067 miles above the moon’s surface.

As expected, the Orion spacecraft lost contact with NASA mission control while on the far side of the Moon, but it is expected to reestablish communications approximately 7:25 p.m. ET / 4:25 p.m. PT.

“As we prepare to cease radio communications, we will continue to feel your love from Earth,” pilot Victor Glover said just before losing contact. “And to all of you out there on Earth and around the Earth, we love you, from the moon. We will see you on the other side.”

While traveling behind the Moon, the crew was able to see an “Earth”. They will see an “Earthrise” when they emerge on the far side of the moon.

Currently, the crew aboard the Integrity capsule can see both the Moon and Earth through Window 3.

“The Moon is a gibbous and the Earth is a crescent,” they told NASA Mission Control. “In about 45 minutes, we will have two identical crescents as we change positions in the universe.”

The live stream shows a GoPro camera’s view of one of Orion’s four solar panels outside and only shows the moon at the moment, but NASA hopes it will soon spot the Earth and the Moon in the same plane as well.

“The moon is so bright,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said from his moon-viewing position through one of the windows of the Integrity capsule Monday afternoon. He told NASA Mission Control that it was difficult to adjust his eyes between the darkness of the spacecraft and the bright moon outside the window.

The Orion crew turned off the lights inside the spacecraft to better photograph the moon without any reflections.

The terminator on the moon is “incredibly robust,” added Artemis II pilot Victor Glover during one of his lunar observations relayed verbally to Mission Control. Glover and Christina Koch have just swapped places with Hansen and Reid Wiseman to report their observations on the moon’s geological features. Each exchange lasts approximately 15 minutes and allows the four astronauts to take turns observing and supporting.

Hansen said he was able to discern the browns and greens in the moon’s coloring today, while Wiseman said he took a photo of the moon using his phone. NASA hopes to have all the images taken today by the end of the day.

If you are a player of the popular online Battle Royale game Fortniteyou can make your own close-up lunar observations.

The Lunar Horizons Fortnite map was created as a collaboration between Epic Games and the European Space Agency, designed to be an educational in-game experience.

To explore the moon in Fortnite, scroll through the game modes and the Discovery tab until you find the Search button. In the search bar, enter “Lunar Horizons” or the code 3207-0960-6428.

Correction, 6:30 p.m. ET: Since publishing this story, we have been informed by a company representative that there is no Artemis II-specific mission in Fortnite, as the article originally stated. The message has now been corrected.

Currently, during a seven-hour window, Artemis II astronauts are close enough to the Moon to make detailed descriptions of the lunar surface and its geological features. You can hear them share these observations with NASA Mission Control live as they remain in contact with Earth.

Currently, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen provide the descriptions, while Victor Glover and Christina Koch assist in the booth, but they will soon swap roles. They will also make written annotations on their personal computing devices.

NASA notes that human eyes can discern more features and provide better descriptions than just photographing an uncrewed flight, which is why sending a crew around the Moon is so important. A crewed mission to land on the moon is planned for 2028.

During NASA’s Artemis II live broadcast on Monday, a jar of Nutella unexpectedly floated weightlessly inside the Orion spacecraft. Posts on X, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok captured the moment, claiming it was the “best product placement ever” or joking that the Artemis II mission was “sponsored by Nutella.”

The dark spot on the Moon that we can see from Earth was formed by ancient lava flows during the Moon’s volcanic activity. To the left of the dark spot is a smaller dark spot, which is the Orientale Basin (nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Moon). From Earth, we only have a partial view of the basin, and it is never exposed to the sun due to the rotation of the moon.

Moments after breaking Apollo 13’s record for the farthest space voyage from Earth, the Artemis II crew proposed two new names for currently unnamed craters on the Moon’s surface.

Commander Reid Wiseman said during the live broadcast that the crew decided on two proposed names this morning. The first name is Integrity, the same as the spaceship the crew is currently aboard. The second name is Carroll, in honor of Wiseman’s wife, who died in 2020. “It’s a bright spot on the moon,” Reid said of the crater in an emotional announcement. They have two daughters, Ellie and Katherine.

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission have now officially traveled further from Earth than anyone before, breaking the record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, which was supposed to land on the Moon but was forced to simply circle around it and return to Earth after an explosion on board.

NASA announced that Artemis II would reach a maximum distance of 252,752 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13’s record by an additional 4,102 miles.

The record was broken on Monday around 1:59 p.m. ET/10:59 a.m. PTand lunar observations should begin at 2:45 p.m. ET / 11:45 a.m. TP. HAS 6:44 p.m. ET / 3:44 p.m. PTOrion will pass behind the Moon and NASA mission control expects to lose communication with the crew before resuming it around 7:25 p.m. ET / 4:25 p.m. PT.

During Monday’s flyby, the astronauts will have 30 targets to study scientifically. One of them will be the Orientale Basin, a crater nearly 600 miles wide, part on the far side of the Moon, part on the near side. NASA says the crater, which will be fully illuminated, retains clear evidence of the collision that created it. Another is the Hertzsprung Basin, a 400-mile-wide crater older than Orientale and degraded by later impacts, located on the far side of the Moon. You can see Orientale in the center of the green circle in the screenshot above, while Hertzsprung is in the pink circle at the top left.

It’s the sixth day of the Artemis II mission. The astronauts will have a close encounter with the Moon and reach the farthest point of their 10-day journey. At some point today, the Orion capsule will be between 4,000 and 6,000 miles from the lunar surface – as close as possible to the Moon, which NASA says will then appear as large as a basketball held at arm’s length. Today, they will also travel to the farthest point of their space flight and could potentially break the distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth, set by Apollo 13 in 1970.

NASA has shared a detailed schedule for the Artemis II moon flyby. All times are Eastern Daylight Time and are subject to change.

Monday April 6

• 00:41: Orion s It is 41,072 miles from the Moon and comes under its gravitational influence.
• 1:30 p.m.: Mission Control reviews the crew’s science objectives for the lunar flyby.
• 1:56 p.m.: The Artemis II crew is expected to be the furthest humans have ever traveled from Earth, surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.
• 2:45 p.m.: Lunar observations begin.
• 6:44 p.m.: Mission Control expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew as the Orion spacecraft passes behind the moon.
• 6:45 p.m.: The Earth will slide behind the Moon, creating an “Earth” from Orion’s perspective.
• 7:02 p.m.: Orion reaches 4,070 miles above the moon’s surface, its closest approach during the mission.
• 7:07 p.m.: The crew reaches its maximum distance from Earth during the mission.
• 7:25 p.m.: “Earthrise” marks the return of the Earth to the opposite edge of the Moon.
• 7:25 p.m.: Mission Control should resume communication with the astronauts.
• 8:35 p.m. – 9:32 p.m.: During a solar eclipse, the sun will pass behind the moon from the crew’s perspective.
• 9:20 p.m.: Conclusion of lunar observations.

Tuesday April 7

• 1:25 p.m.:Orion is 41,072 miles from the moon, outside the lunar sphere of influence.

On Sunday, Mission Control played Working Class Heroes (Work) by CeeLo Green to wake up the crew of Artemis II. As the astronauts begin their day, the Orion is 65,235 miles from the moon. Today’s schedule includes an evaluation of the Orion Crew Survival System suit, which will take up most of the morning, as well as a possible course correction. The Artemis II mission will also enter the lunar sphere of influence and feel the effects of the Moon’s gravitational pull.

The Artemis II mission is a test flight to test spacecraft, equipment and processes for future lunar missions. On Saturday, astronauts performed a hand-piloting demonstration of Orion to test how the spacecraft behaves in deep space, similar to the close-in operations performed by pilot Victor Glover on Wednesday. The test involved several attitude maneuvers to compare 6 degrees of freedom to 3 degrees of freedom. Six degrees of freedom means that there are six ways to move the craft: forward, backward, up, down, left and right. Three degrees refer to pitch, roll and yaw. The idea is to understand what it’s like to fly the Orion with all 6 degrees of freedom and compare that performance to what it’s like with only 3 degrees.

In another milestone of the mission, the Orion and its crew traveled more than two-thirds of the distance to the Moon. The Artemis II mission is expected to circle the Moon on Monday.

National Geographic shared a new video on its YouTube channel showing the launch of Artemis II on Wednesday in slow motion. The clip is only 7.5 seconds of takeoff, but because the footage is recorded 66 times slower than real time, it lasts about 8 minutes. The video is mesmerizing as the Space Launch System rocket’s white-orange flame slowly builds, gradually filling the frame while generating more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust. The bright, intense plume of the SLS takes on an otherworldly quality in slow motion.

Mission Control continued its tradition of using a song as a wake-up call for the Artemis II crew. Saturday morning’s selection was Pink Pony Club from Chappell Roan.

This is the first image shared by NASA of the Orion and its Integrity capsule in space. A camera installed on the ship’s solar wing took the photo.

As we reveal all the daily moments experienced by the Artemis II crew, from liftoff to performing a translunar injection burn to repairing a broken toilet to taking beautiful images of Earth, we want to look back at what got the astronauts there: the rocket. It’s called the Space Launch System and it’s the most powerful rocket in the world.

Three years ago, Claire Reilly, now a former senior video producer at CNET, had the opportunity to go inside the factory where the giant super-heavy rocket, the SLS, was built. Take a look at his video below:

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this absolutely stunning photo of Earth. If you look closely, you can see the lights of cities dotting the globe. Look to the bottom right and you can see a sliver of sunlight peeking around our planet.

Orion is expected to circle the Moon on Monday, giving the crew a view of about 20 percent of the Moon’s far side, which is not visible from Earth. The far side of the moon will be illuminated by the sun as Orion passes, with the spacecraft aligned with the sun and moon for six hours.

During its daily press conference on Friday, NASA said it is expected to approach the Moon around approximately 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT Monday .

Some of the lunar features they will see – for the first time with human eyes – are Pierazzo Crater, Ohm Crater and the entire Orientale Basin.

To prepare for the moment, the crew will continue to practice stowing gear and setting up their cameras as quickly as possible in the cramped microgravity conditions aboard the spacecraft. Astronauts will use 80-400mm and 14-24mm telephoto lenses to take images of the far side of the Moon.

On the heels of NASA’s spectacular launch of Artemis II and weeks after NASA on Friday announced its ambitious timeline for building a base on the Moon in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order “Ensuring America’s Space Superiority,” the president reversed course and proposed a $5.6 billion cut in the agency’s fiscal 2027 budget, Reuters reports.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the news in a memo to employees (as reproduced by the independent site NASA Watch), saying: “Achieving this will require a disciplined focus on the highest impact activities and rigorous management of taxpayer resources.” »

The budget proposals are far from being concluded: they are only the starting point of a political policy. But with $5.6 billion as a starting point, the eventual cuts could still be quite significant.

Artemis V:No date has yet been specified, but NASA said in March that it planned at least one surface landing per year after Artemis IV. Beyond Artemis V, the space agency hopes to increase the rate to every six months, or even faster. (For comparison, there were two Apollo landings in 1969, three in 1971, and two in 1972.)

After that, the plans become more vague, with a vague three-phase outline. First, there is a shift “from tailor-made and infrequent missions to a modular and reproducible approach”. Second, establish “semi-habitable infrastructure” and regular logistics. Third, provide “heavier infrastructure necessary for a continued human presence” and “a permanent lunar base e “.

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission were scheduled to perform the mission’s first outbound trajectory correction (OTC) at 6:49 p.m. ET / 3:49 p.m. PT today, but NASA Mission Control canceled it. The burns last about 8 seconds and would adjust Orion’s speed by about 0.7 feet per second. They are used to fine-tune the spacecraft’s trajectory and use Orion’s thrusters to stay on track.

However, NASA said on its Artemis II blog that the spacecraft is already on the right trajectory for the mission and does not require any further adjustments.

“Flight controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston chose to override the spacecraft’s first outbound trajectory correction because the spacecraft’s trajectory is on the correct flight path,” NASA wrote.

This was the first of three OTC burns planned for the mission.

Even though they’re traveling to the Moon in a tiny space capsule, Artemis II astronauts should get 30 minutes of exercise a day to help offset and minimize any muscle and bone loss that occurs when they’re in zero gravity. The challenge for the Artemis II crew is that Orion’s capsule, named Integrity, doesn’t have much room.

“Working much like a yo-yo, the device provides resistance proportional to the force applied, allowing for loads of up to 400 pounds,” says a NASA blog post on the Artemis II mission.

While each astronaut trains, NASA’s ground crew monitors the spacecraft’s aerial systems.

You are somewhere in the photo above. Although Friday was a quieter day than Wednesday, the launch day of the lunar mission, we were rewarded with some glamorous shots taken by the four astronauts.

Mission Commander Reid Wiseman and others took some beautiful photos that remind me of the famous photo of the Big Blue Marble taken by NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt in 1972 on Apollo 17. Since then, you’ve probably seen this image in history and science textbooks. Who knows? Maybe the next generations will see these new NASA photos in their future textbooks (probably electronic, since it’s 2026).

What did David Bowie say in his 1969 song Space Oddity? “I walk through the door and I float in a very special way. And the stars are very different today.”

You know who else was watching the incredible liftoff of the Artemis II launch vehicle from NASA’s control room? A stuffed animal of a certain character named… Artemis.

Eagle-eyed Redditor 1108amh posted on the r/Sailor Moon subreddit that they spotted a stuffed white cat that resembled Artemis, Minako’s (Sailor Venus) guardian and advisor.

“Looks like the astronauts are getting all the protection they need on their journey to the Moon!” 1108amh wrote in his message.

Someone who commented on the post noted that it probably belonged to the man in the light blue shirt sitting in front of the stuffed animal, as he is wearing a dark blue lanyard with Sailor Moon characters on it (visible if you zoom in).

The plush cameo is an interesting little reference for all fans of the good Sailor Moon anime. And for fans of the less wholesome series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, they also had their own Artemis jokes.

Mission Control gave the crew a wake-up call at 1 p.m. EDT in the form of the song In a Daydream by the Freddy Jones Band. When Orion awoke, it was approximately 99,900 miles from Earth and 161,750 miles from the Moon. Today’s activities for astronauts include:

• An outbound trajectory correction burn – the first of this mission
• Orion spacecraft operations
• Lunar Science Prep Work
• Crew health demonstrations

NASA has just released two stunning photographs taken by the crew of Artemis II during its journey into orbit around the Moon.

In another beautiful photo you can see the Earth in all its glory.

At 7:49 p.m. EDT and just 150 miles above Earth, the Artemis II crew performed a translunar injection burn with the European Service Module’s Orbital Maneuvering System engine. The burn lasted 5 minutes and 49 seconds and set the Artemis II mission on a trajectory that will take Orion around the Moon and back to Earth. The wings of the solar array were positioned forward (away from the ESM) during combustion to avoid damage.

NASA shared in a post that the four Artemis II astronauts started their day at 2:35 p.m. EDT. The Orion crew received a wake-up call in the form of Green Light, John Legend’s 2008 song featuring Andre 3000.

Many people were lucky enough to see the Orion launch live, with videos making the rounds on social media. On Instagram, several people posted clips showing the rocket launch from a plane in the sky, while others watched it from vantage points across Florida, including Disney’s Grand Floridian resort at Walt Disney World.

One particularly impressive video we saw wasn’t so much about the location as how it was filmed: someone used a Nintendo 3DS camera and shared the video on Reddit, the portable console ob solète manages to capture both video and sound quite well.

The crew of Artemis II repaired the toilets on the Orion spacecraft Thursday after reporting that the toilet fan was blocked less than 24 hours after liftoff.

In a blog post, NASA said the Orion’s toilet became operational again after the astronauts worked with instructions from mission control in Houston on how to access the ventilator and clear the area. They had reported a flashing trouble light earlier, and “mission control teams were able to evaluate the data and work with the crew to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.”

Wondering how toilets work in space? Nat Geo and NASA team up to release behind-the-scenes videos from the Orion yesterday, including a look at the toilet. Astronauts must use foot straps, handles and hearing protection to use the toilet, which has a funnel to collect waste and store it in containers.

Takeoff is complete, so what’s next? The rocket’s four-person crew is expected to perform what’s called a translunar injection burn this evening. Basically, it is a maneuver that gives the rocket an extra boost of power to help it successfully leave Earth’s orbit. Orion will burn its engines for about six minutes during the exercise, NASA said. Then, the astronauts will officially begin the first four-day leg of their journey to the Moon.

Astronauts: They are like us. Sometimes their email client has issues.

More than 36,000 miles from the planet’s surface, Commander Reid Wiseman’s Microsoft Outlook has stopped working. He reported it while they were troubleshooting other software.

“I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither of them work if you want to access remotely,” Wiseman said.

About an hour later, after checking any good corporate tech support remotely, Houston said things were working again: “For Outlook, we were able to open it. It will show “offline”, which is expected.

On NASA’s live video feed of the Artemis II mission, the Orion capsule is seen against the backdrop of Earth, with Australia visible.

If you want to talk about team efforts, look at spaceflight. Thousands of people help rockets reach space and, with Artemis II, send astronauts to the Moon. This also extends to the support of those gathered for the launches.

Shortly before the launch, AT&T provided details on how its PremierNet resources are deployed to support the launch. FirstNet, the First Responder Network Authority, is the company’s emergency response and public safety program that is a private/public partnership between AT&T and the U.S. government.

(Warning, acronyms ahead, but that’s no surprise when working with the space industry.)

For the Artemis II mission, AT&T coordinated with NASA’s Protective Services and Emergency Management Operations to maintain reliable communications across the Kennedy Space Center. He deployed a SatCOLT (Satellite Cell on Light Truck) and a CRD (Compact Rapid Deployable) to keep NASA’s public safety teams connected.

It also introduced an LCT (LEO Cell Trailer) for temporary high-speed cellular service and activated a Cell Booster Pro at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for indoor phone and data service.

Finally, the NASA Kennedy press site had a Connect and Care NDR (Network Disaster Recovery) trailer parked for attendees to charge their devices. Since the rocket took off on time, it may not have seen much use, but space launches are often delayed for technical and weather reasons, so it was prepared for an extended launch window.

We have reached another key moment of the Artemis II mission: the deployment of the solar panel wings.

The Orion spacecraft was launched, taking astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen and Reid Wiseman into space on the historic 10-day Artemis II mission to the moon.

Takeoff took place at 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. ET .

NASA has removed the crew access arm from the Artemis II rocket.

The Orion was cleared for launch today, with the new launch time set for 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:33 p.m. PT(and 12 seconds).

The Artemis II liftoff countdown has now resumed after a planned wait and check after 10 minutes. The mission is officially at terminal count and the automated ground launch sequencer hardware has begun operating.

The countdown for Artemis II’s takeoff is set at 10 minutes. Once the countdown resumes, the mission will be in terminal countdown.

NASA’s Artemis II launch countdown has officially passed 30 minutes until liftoff.

A live stream from the Orion spacecraft will begin around 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, or once launch is complete. The stream will air as Artemis II begins its ascent into space, with “live views of Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft, without commentary, as it completes its journey around the moon.” The stream will end just before Orion splashes down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of the mission.

If there is a signal loss or lack of bandwidth during the mission, you will see a blue screen. If it’s dark, you’ll see what looks like a black screen.

To stay up to date with what happened overnight or while you’re at work, you can read NASA’s live blog for all the Artemis II mission updates. We will also continue to update key mission milestones on CNET.

Astronauts eat: These days, it’s not just Tang and Space Food Sticks. NASA has shared a sneak peek of the Artemis II astronaut menu, and it doesn’t look bad at all.

The Artemis II crew will enjoy more than 10 types of drinks, including coffee, mango-peach smoothies, green tea, apple cider, lemonade, pineapple drink, cocoa and breakfast drinks flavored with a choice of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry.

The most common foods they will eat include tortillas, wheat flatbread, vegetable quiche, grilled brisket, mango salad, blueberry granola, macaroni and cheese, tropical fruit salad, nutty couscous, broccoli au gratin, spicy green beans, almonds, cashews, and butternut squash cauliflower.

NASA also reports that astronauts can choose to spice up their meals: five different hot sauces are offered to the crew. And culinary flavors available include maple syrup, chocolate spread, peanut butter, spicy mustard, strawberry jam, honey, cinnamon and almond butter. Sweet treats include cookies, chocolate, pudding, cakes, candy-covered almonds, and cobbler.

And no, they don’t take a flavored pill or suck a sandwich out of a tube, like the old sci-fi shows told us.

“Food on board Orion is ready-to-eat, rehydratable, heat-stabilized or irradiated,” NASA specifies. “The crew uses Orion’s drinking water dispenser to rehydrate food and drinks, as well as a compact briefcase-style food warmer to reheat meals as needed.”

An issue was discovered with less than an hour until the launch window opens: one of the launch abort system’s two battery temperature sensors is “out of specification,” and NASA’s engineering team is currently troubleshooting to understand whether it is a sensor or battery issue. It is unclear whether this could delay or prevent the launch.

The chances of launch have improved, however, with NASA now predicting a 90% launch probability, up from 80% previously reported.

With just over an hour until the launch window opened, the Orion spacecraft’s final hatch was sealed.

The range is clear for the launch and the sun is breaking through the clouds after some rain, according to the NASA livestream. Again, the two hour window starts at 6:24 p.m. ET / 3:24 p.m. PT.

The Artemis II mission is the first time humans have traveled to the Moon since the 1970s. Additionally, Victor Glover will be the first Black person to travel to the Moon; Christina Koch will be the first woman; and Jeremy Hansen will be the first Canadian.

Astronauts will not disembark from the spacecraft and set foot on the Moon. Instead, this mission will travel around the Moon, including to the far side, where no crewed mission has been flown before.

NASA wants to send humans to the Moon by 2028:

• Artemis II: Scheduled for launch today, April 1, it will send astronauts around the Moon to perform tests.
• Artemis III: Scheduled to launch in mid-2027, it will perform additional tests, connect to lunar landers in low Earth orbit and test equipment.
• Artemis IV: scheduled for launch in early 2028, it will bring humans back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
• Artemis V: Could launch in late 2028 or 2029 and intends to put humans back on the Moon.

As we approach 2.5 hours until the launch window opens, you can check out some of the National Geographic videos taken aboard Orion last year as part of a partnership with NASA. Some videos feature the spaceship’s toilets and sleeping quarters.

NASA and Nat Geo collaborated under a Space Act agreement to develop compact, lightweight audio-visual equipment for use inside Orion during the Artemis II mission.

On Orion, voice controls for all four crew members are currently complete and, even if rain showers pass through the Kennedy Space Center area, they should not pose a problem for the launch. According to AccuWeather, it is currently 75 degrees Fahrenheit and partly sunny on Merritt Island, Florida. AccuWeather predicts that conditions will be “likely dry for the Artemis II launch.”

People around the world are following preparations for the launch with interest, including members of the royal family. The British royal family’s Instagram account posted a message from Britain’s King Charles III on Wednesday, in which the king sent a congratulatory message to one of the astronauts.

The king’s message was sent to Canadian Space Agency mission specialist and astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian to carry out a mission to the Moon. Canada is part of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

“As you embark on this momentous undertaking, I send you and your fellow crew members my most sincere best wishes,” the message read. “May the stars align in your favor and may your safe return inspire countless others to uphold the values ​​of sustainability, cooperation and wonder that the Astra Carta inspires.”

The mention of the Astra Carta refers to an initiative by Charles to inspire sustainability in the space industry.

The full message sent to Hansen is available on the royal family’s website.

The closing crew is now strapping NASA astronaut Commander Reid Wiseman and Canadian Mission Specialist II Jeremy Hansen into the Orion, while NASA Pilot Victor Glover and NASA Mission Specialist Christina Koch wait in the clean room to board. They have to strap the astronauts in pairs due to the extremely limited space on board; a technician in a suit had to kneel on the seat where Koch will sit in order to strap in Wiseman and Hansen.

Quick-release five-point harnesses are attached to the astronauts, as well as the crew fence connecting communications, air and water cooling cables.

Orion’s test driver has just completed a successful test with Hansen, making contact with the astronauts aboard the spacecraft. A successful communications check with Wiseman was then conducted.

With just 4 hours until the launch window opens, the crew is in the final stages before boarding the Orion spacecraft, crossing a 274-foot-high bridge to the entry point.

The crew member signed a wall with their patch on it at Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, and NASA suit technicians fitted them with their caps, helmets and gloves in the clean room. The suits are flame-retardant and have built-in knee pads, as astronauts will have to crawl inside the spacecraft.

The astronauts boarded the Astrovan (a custom Airstream van built for NASA) to take them to the launch pad. The journey takes about 20 minutes, but to pass the time, the van is equipped with a video player and monitor. NASA’s official launch broadcast indicated that the Artemis II crew planned to watch Top Gun and Point Break aboard the Astrovan. It’s unclear exactly how much of either film they’ll have access to view, but the NASA show noted that Point Break was chosen because astronaut Christina Koch surfed.

Before the astronauts headed to the launch pad, they said goodbye to their families ahead of their 10-day mission. The Artemis II crew boarded the Astrovan, a modified Airstream van, which will transport them to the launch pad.

NASA is offering a handful of live feeds from different cameras for the launch in addition to the official broadcast. Live feeds are broadcast from the Kennedy Space Center, where the launch pad is located, and from the International Space Station, which are monitoring the situation from Earth orbit. The Artemis II mission is expected to travel 1,000 times further than the ISS, to the far side of the Moon. This will be the farthest distance a crewed mission has ever traveled – about 4,000 miles more than the Apollo 11 crew traveled.

With just under five hours until launch, the crew is currently in the combination room. On NASA’s live stream on YouTube, you can watch Reid Wiseman (the Commander), Victor Glover (the Pilot), Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist) suit up in their gear. The four astronauts wear bright orange spacesuits while other NASA employees strap on equip pements and technologies in their combinations.

The weather is favorable, although one of the display units aboard the spacecraft is cooler than usual. NASA cites an 80% probability of launch today. The space agency plans the launch near the start of its two-hour window, which opens at 6:24 p.m. ET / 3:24 p.m. PT.

Although the Artemis II mission does not involve landing astronauts on the surface of the Moon, it is important for many reasons.

Like Apollo 8, which allowed Neil Armstrong and the other Apollo 11 astronauts to become the first men to walk on the Moon, Artemis II is an integral part of NASA’s future missions. Artemis II is the first crewed mission in the series, which will test the Space Launch System rocket and its life support systems. Two more Artemis missions are planned and funded through 2028, with Artemis IV expected to send humans to the Moon.

The Artemis II crew also plans to go further into deep space than any previous mission. At the peak of its orbit, the rocket will be more than 4,700 miles from the far side of the Moon. As NASA and other space organizations focus on exploring deeper space and Mars, it is important to build and test technologies and equipment capable of supporting longer missions.

I will say up front that I am not an expert in aerospace engineering. If so, you might enjoy reading NASA’s official reference guide to the Artemis II rocket. Here are some quick highlights.

• The Artemis II rocket consists of a Space Launch System (SLS, the actual rocket) and an Orion spacecraft (the payload on top of the rocket, in which the astronauts will return).
• The SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA, producing 8.8 million pounds of thrust. It is equipped with two rocket boosters and is 98 meters (about 322 feet) tall. It’s just a little taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• The Orion spacecraft is wider and more spacious than the spacecraft used in the Apollo missions. Luckily for the astronauts, it also has new and improved toilets.
• Compared to the Saturn V rocket, the SLS is shorter but has more efficient and powerful engines. But the SLS weighs a maximum of 27 tons, while the Saturn V could handle heavier payloads. You can check out our full comparison of Artemis vs. Saturn V for more information.

I grew up watching the Apollo missions to the Moon. It was absolutely thrilling: every takeoff, every step on the lunar surface, every splashdown for the safe return to Earth. Then, suddenly, it was over, and more than 50 years had passed since humans made that epic journey so far from home. Today, the Artemis program has arrived to bring back that feeling of respect. Space travel has never been truly mundane, but after so many successful flights of space shuttles, Soyuzes and SpaceXs in orbit and long-term residencies at the International Space Station, it has become routine.

Artemis II is here to shake things up.

Which got me thinking about where this leaves us. The Apollo program was the culmination of the first space wave explorationa time of heroic achievements by scientists, engineers and astronauts. Artemis missions mark the start of a whole new space era exploitation. It won’t be long before we exploit the Moon’s natural resources and space mining becomes a career option. Elon Musk, rather than Neil Armstrong, may soon be the face of our lunar efforts. I hope the feeling of wonder and adventure stays with us.

The Artemis II crew (left to right): backup crew members Andre Douglas and Jenni Gibbons, then core crew members Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. Hansen is the only Canadian among the American crew and will be the first of his compatriots to travel to the Moon.