NASA to launch Artemis II in first human Moon mission since 1972

NASA’s Artemis II mission will launch this evening, humanity’s first flight to the moon since 1972.

The launch is scheduled for 23:24pm British Summer Time (18:24 EDT) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, with the countdown clock scheduled since Monday.

After weeks of fuel leaks and other issues, things seem to be going NASA’s way as they proceed toward launch.

Officials reported moon rocket was doing well on the pad, and the weather looked promising, with forecasters putting the odds of favourable conditions at 80%.

“Everybody’s pretty excited and understands the significance of this launch,” said senior test director Jeff Spaulding.

Photographers set up remote cameras to capture the launch of NASA’s Artemis II. / Credit:

The mission, which has cost $93bn (around £70bn) so far, will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around, meaning they will hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, make a U-turn and then come straight back, in a mission lasting ten days.

The Artemis astronauts are Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission specialists Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, who between them will make history as the first person of colour, first woman, and first non-American on the moon.

Artemis II crew members Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover at the Kennedy Space Centre / Credit: AP Images / Chris O’Meara

The test flight is part of NASA’s longer term plans, which hope to send more people to walk on the moon, after a number of practice missions.

The Artemis II crew may behold never-before-seen regions of the lunar far side — with the moon appearing the size of a basketball at arm’s length during the closest part of the roughly six-hour flyby.

In preparation, the crew have been looking at maps and satellite images of the lunar far side and will carry latest smartphones and professional camera on the mission to take a number of images.

Their lunar mentor NASA geologist Kelsey Young, who will monitor the flyby from Mission Control in Houston, said: “The moon is like such a unifying thing. What we’re doing with this mission is going to bring that a little closer to everybody around the world.”

Launch day was originally planned for February, but was delayed due to bad weather, and later due to a liquid hydrogen leak.