Millions of eyes will be trained above Florida, watching closely as the Artemis II crew makes its historic, high-powered trek toward the moon.
In many ways the crew, who are set to liftoff as early as 6:24 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, is more a reflection of modern international relationships and an America at 250 years old than the stoic-minded astronauts who vaulted to the moon and back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Artemis II crew includes the first Black man, the first woman and the first Canadian to ever fly on a moon mission.
Visual explainer: See how Artemis mission will get to the moon, step-by-step
“It has been a tremendous amount of work, but the cool thing for this crew is just how much effort we have been willing to put into it,” said mission commander Reid Wiseman on the recent NASA podcast, Houston We Have a Podcast, recorded in October 2025.
