{"id":11772,"date":"2026-04-02T15:24:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/?p=11772"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:24:39","slug":"artemis-ii-blasts-off-to-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/?p=11772","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II Blasts Off to the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NASA has successfully launched the Artemis II mission, sending four astronauts on a historic 10\u2011day voyage around the Moon\u2014the first crewed lunar-bound flight since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT after teams resolved a last\u2011minute safety system issue, clearing the way for a mission designed to test every critical system needed for future lunar landings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Watch Artemis II launch on NASA\u2019s first crewed moon mission in 50 years\" width=\"563\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OXjnXStCAEI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Commanded by Reid Wiseman, the crew includes pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch\u2014who will become the first woman to travel to the Moon\u2014and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the first non\u2011American to fly beyond low\u2011Earth orbit. Together, they bring decades of combined experience, from spacewalks to naval aviation, representing NASA\u2019s most diverse deep\u2011space crew to date. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566-450x281.jpg 450w, https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/artemis-ii-launch-crew-moon-mission-e1775069860566.jpg 1198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Shortly after launch, the Orion spacecraft separated from its upper stage and transitioned communications to NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network\u2014the first time in 50 years a crewed spacecraft has traveled far enough to require it. The crew has already manually piloted Orion as part of a systems test and reported an \u201camazing ride\u201d during ascent. Over the coming hours, they will complete a 25\u2011hour systems checkout before executing the crucial trans\u2011lunar injection burn that will push Orion out of Earth orbit and onto a trajectory toward the Moon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the 10\u2011day mission, the astronauts will conduct emergency drills, evaluate life\u2011support systems, and travel as far as 230,000 miles from Earth before performing a lunar flyby. The mission will not land on the Moon but will pave the way for Artemis IV, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Artemis II also launches at a pivotal moment for NASA. The agency recently announced a program\u2011wide reset to address delays, heat\u2011shield issues, and cost overruns\u2014making this crewed flight a critical proving ground for the next phase of lunar exploration and the long\u2011term goal of establishing a permanent Moon base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the spacecraft begins its journey, NASA officials say Artemis II marks not just a return to the Moon, but the opening chapter of a new era in human space exploration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has successfully launched the Artemis II mission, sending four astronauts on a historic 10\u2011day voyage around the Moon\u2014the first crewed lunar-bound flight since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT after teams resolved a last\u2011minute safety system issue, clearing the way<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[974,975,179],"coauthors":[446],"class_list":{"0":"post-11772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-2","8":"tag-artemis-ii","9":"tag-moon-mission","10":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11775,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11772\/revisions\/11775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11772"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}