Artemis II mission timeline:

Day 0: Liftoff (April 1, 2026, at 22:35 UTC)

NASA’s Artemis II successfully blasts off, launching toward the Moon in the first crewed lunar voyage in 53 years.
The SLS rocket lifts the Orion spacecraft and its four‑person crew beyond Earth’s atmosphere, beginning the 10‑day mission.

Day 1: Outbound coast and rest

Total mission duration: 10 days.
The crew will stay about 5,000 miles from the Moon’s surface at closest.
Astronauts will sleep in two four‑hour blocks per day, a schedule designed to keep them alert during the long transit.

Day 2: Breaking free of Earth

Orion’s engines fire to accelerate the spacecraft to escape velocity, officially sending it on its path toward the Moon.

Days 3–5: Midcourse toward the Moon

The crew fine‑tunes the spacecraft’s approach to the Moon, making small trajectory corrections to ensure the flyby happens at the right distance and angle.

Day 6: Flyby at the Moon

The Orion capsule swings by the Moon, dipping about 250,000 miles from Earth, the farthest any humans have traveled.
The Moon will be roughly 5,000 miles beneath the spacecraft—close enough for detailed views but not for landing.

Days 6–7: Turning back home

The crew adjusts Orion’s trajectory again, this time setting up the return path to Earth rather than a lunar orbit or landing.

Day 8–9: Cruise back to Earth

Orion coasts through deep space on its way home, with the crew conducting tests, collecting data, and preparing for reentry.

Day 10: Reentry and splashdown

The astronauts put on their proper suits and secure the capsule for the violent plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere.
Orion reenters at about 25,000 miles per hour, the fastest human reentry in decades.
A pair of parachutes (with backups staged just in case) will slow the capsule down to a gentle 17 miles per hour.
The Orion capsule splashes down off the coast of San Diego, California, concluding the first human mission to fly around the Moon since Apollo.

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