NASA launched four astronauts toward the Moon on Wednesday, sending a crewed spacecraft on a lunar flyby for the first time in more than half a century. The Artemis 2 mission lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at about 6:35 p.m. local time, carrying three Americans and one Canadian away from the pad atop a massive orange-and-white rocket.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman, the mission commander, radioed a brief message as the spacecraft climbed: «We have a beautiful moonrise. We're headed right at it.» The astronauts wore bright orange suits with blue trim as the flight began.
The launch drew an estimated 400,000 spectators to Florida's Space Coast, according to local authorities. Scientist Sian Proctor, who traveled to the region to watch, said the moment carried broader meaning. «I'm just so happy that we're going back to the Moon,» she said. «Everybody should be excited and be following the next 10 days, because this is a big step for humanity.»
The astronauts are now in Earth orbit, where they will remain while ground teams run checks on a spacecraft that has never carried humans before. The crew completed «proximity operations» demonstrations, testing how their Orion capsule can move relative to another spacecraft, including maneuvers that mimic what would be needed to dock with a lunar lander. Pilot Victor Glover reported back to mission control: «Great flying with you, Houston. Nice vehicle.»
Early in the flight, teams identified several issues to address. Amit Kshatriya, NASA's associate administrator, said during a post-launch briefing that controllers had found «a controller issue with the toilet when they spun it up,» among other kinks. «We're just getting started,» he added. NASA head Jared Isaacman noted a temporary communication problem with the spacecraft that was later resolved, and said the astronauts were «safe, they're secure, and they're in great spirits.»
Isaacman emphasized the historic nature of the launch. «NASA is back in the business of sending people to the Moon,» he said. If the plan proceeds as expected, the crew will head out Thursday on a three-day journey toward the Moon, then loop around it to capture new images and make naked-eye observations. The voyage is expected to last about 10 days in total and aims to pave the way for a Moon landing in 2028.
The mission marks a series of firsts: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission. If all goes well, the astronauts will also set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before. It is the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, the Space Launch System, designed to allow the United States to return to the Moon repeatedly with the goal of establishing a permanent base for further exploration.
The launch followed years of delays and massive cost overruns. Artemis 2 had been expected to fly as early as February, but repeated setbacks stalled it and even required rolling the rocket back to its hangar for investigation and repairs. «NASA really needs this win right now,» said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, pointing to the agency's recent budget turmoil and a workforce exodus that have challenged morale.
The current era of American lunar investment has often been portrayed as an effort to compete with China, which aims to land humans on the Moon by 2030. During the post-launch briefing, Isaacman said competition was «a great way to mobilise the resources of a nation.» «Competition can be a good thing,» he said. «And we certainly have competition now.» The Artemis program has come under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has pushed its pace with the hope that astronauts will reach the lunar surface before his second term ends in early 2029. Trump praised «our brave astronauts» and called the successful launch «quite something» at the top of a televised address.
12
