Watch the first crewed Artemis mission take flight

On the evening of March 31, the engineers shifted the launch system into its final configuration. In the early hours of April 1, they will activate the ground launch sequencer. You can start watching Artemis II’s launch event at 7:45AM ET when the Artemis team will load propellant into the SLS rocket. Full launch coverage begins at 12:50 PM ET on NASA+, Amazon Prime or the YouTube video embedded below.

The Artemis II mission will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day trip around the moon. It will be NASA’s first flight with a crew onboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft system, and it will be humanity’s first foray into deep space since the Apollo program. During their 10-day mission, the astronauts will observe how journeys beyond Earth’s orbit affect human health. Artemis II was supposed to launch in February, but the attempt had failed due to a hydrogen leak. Another attempt in March was delayed yet again due a helium issue. If the launch doesn’t take place today as planned, NASA’s next launch opportunity is on April 6.