The NASA Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft blasts off at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. T.J. Muscaro/The Epoch Times
People gather to watch the launch of Artemis II from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
Photographers set up remote cameras near NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket on Launch Pad 39B just before sunrise at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., March 31, 2026. Chris O'Meara/AP Photo
(L-R) Astronauts Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch pose for a photo after leaving the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39B and a planned liftoff on NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chris O'Meara/AP Photo
Loved ones and colleagues wave to the Artemis II mission crew as they walk out before traveling to the launch pad to board the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II crewed lunar mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Three men and one woman are set to embark on the first crewed journey to the moon since 1972, a landmark odyssey that aims to launch the United States into a new era of space exploration. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People gather to watch the launch of Artemis II from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
A bird flies past as the Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Commander Reid Wiseman (L) takes a photo with his family as he walks out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Artemis II crewed lunar mission launches at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
An Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station’s cupola on March 30, 2026. Jessica Meir/NASA via AP
(L-R) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman, and mission specialist Christina Koch walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People observe the launch of Artemis II from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Fla., on April 01, 2026. The 322-foot-tall rocket will take astronauts around the moon and back, 230,000 miles out into space—the farthest any human has ever traveled from Earth. Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 1, 2026. Chris O'Meara/AP Photo
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; onboard launches on the Artemis II mission from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images
People react as they watch the Artemis II crewed lunar mission launch on televisions outside of the News Corp building in New York City on April 1, 2026. Adam Gray/Getty Images
Space enthusiasts gather at a park in Titusville, Fla., several hours before NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System rocket is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral on April 1, 2026. Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images
NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 1, 2026. John Raoux/AP Photo
Pilot Victor Glover poses for a photo with his family as he walks out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Spectators view NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket launch from the A. Max Brewer Bridge, in Titusville, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo
The NASA Artemis II Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft launches at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 1, 2026. Chris O'Meara/AP Photo
The solid rocket boosters are seen as they fall away after separating from NASA's Space Launch System rocket shortly after the Artemis II crewed lunar mission lift off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images
A couple watches the moon rising over Marseille, France, on April 1, 2026. Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Jared Isaacman (C) attends the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People watch the Artemis II crewed lunar mission launch on televisions outside of the News Corp building in New York City on April 1, 2026. The 10-day mission will take NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen around the moon and back. The astronauts are supposed to fly 230,000 miles out into space, the farthest any human has ever traveled from Earth. Adam Gray/Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 1, 2026. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A view of the Earth from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight on April 2, 2026. NASA via AP
