The trip should last 10 days and serves as a rehearsal for the next mission, planned to land on the satellite
The Artemis 2 mission was launched on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), at 7:35 pm (Brasília time), from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida (USA). It is the first manned mission to the Moon since Apollo 17, completed in .
The objective of the mission is not to land on the Moon. Artemis 2 will make a flight of around 10 days, with the ship orbiting the natural satellite before returning to Earth. It will serve as a dress rehearsal for Artemis 3, planned to make the landing. Engineers perform systems, communications and life support tests during the trip.
See the images of the launch of Artemis 2 released by NASA:
People at the Banana Creek observation deck watch the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (USA)
NASA successfully launched the Artemis 2 mission on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), at 7:35 pm (Brasília time), from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida (USA)
The solid fuel thrusters are seen detaching after separating from the Space Launch System rocket, which was launched on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida (USA)
The SLS rocket, launched on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), carries the Orion capsule with astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist from the Canadian Space Agency)
Artemis 2 will make a flight of around 10 days, with the spacecraft orbiting the natural satellite before returning to Earth
This is the first manned mission to the Moon since Apollo 17, completed in 1972.
3-minute exhibition shows launch of NASA’s SLS rocket, on Wednesday (April 1, 2026)
Watch the moment of launch (3min45s):
The trip of humans to the Moon began with thein 1969, when North American astronauts landed for the first time on the lunar surface. In total, 6 missions of the Apollo program made landings until 1972. Since then, no country has sent astronauts into lunar orbit again.
The gap of more than 5 decades is explained by factors such as the high cost of missions, the change in priorities in United States space policy and the end of with the Soviet Union, according to recurring analyzes by NASA itself and sector experts. Without geopolitical pressure and with more restricted budgets, the focus became Earth orbit and projects such as.
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