Artemis II - Return to the Moon
ARTEMIS II
Humanity Returns to the Moon
April 1–10, 2026
Launch
April 1, 2026 - 6:35 PM EDT Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Upper Stage Separation
The Crew
252,706
miles from home
Farther than any human has ever traveled
Day 4
The far side appears.
Vavilov Crater
The far side of the Moon. Terrain no human eye had ever seen.
Lunar Far Side Flyby
Simulated flyby of the lunar far side
Earthrise. Again.
For the first time in 53 years.
A Solar Eclipse
From the far side of the Moon 54 minutes of totality
The View
From 200,000 miles out
10,000
700,237
photos
miles flown
Splashdown
April 10, 2026, 8:07 PM EDT Pacific Ocean, near San Diego A perfect bullseye splashdown
This was just the flyby.
Next: Artemis III, boots on the Moon.
Images and videos credit: Nasa

