NASA Artemis II Set to Launch for Moon Flyby

NASA will launch Artemis II tonight, with liftoff targeted during a two-hour window beginning at 6:24 PM EDT. Four astronauts will loop around the Moon on a risky, technically challenging mission lasting about ten days. The flight will test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule in deep space, including crewed lunar flyby operations. It is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit in over half a century, and it advances plans for sustained lunar exploration and eventual crewed landings.