After half a century, humans are flying to the Moon again! NASA’s “Artemis II” will launch on 4/2 to carry crew on a lunar flyby; watch the free livestream of the launch

More than half a century after the last time, humanity will once again head to the Moon. NASA’s Artemis II mission is expected to launch as early as the morning of April 2 Taiwan time. The 32-story-tall SLS rocket will carry four astronauts into space, kicking off an approximately 10-day lunar-orbit mission.
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• 32-story rocket, 10-day mission
• Hydrogen fuel leak, helium line blockage—after bumping along the way, it’s only reached today
• Crew highlights: women, people of color, non-U.S. nationals

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officially kicked off the 48-hour countdown for the “Artemis II” mission this morning—NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century. While this time it won’t land, the mere fact that “people will go up and circle the Moon” is enough to make space enthusiasts around the world hold their breath.

The current launch window is scheduled to begin at 6:24 p.m. Eastern Time on April 1. Converted to Taiwan time, that is 6:24 a.m. on April 2. Weather forecasts show an 80% chance of suitable conditions for launch that day. The main concerns are cloud cover and strong winds at the ground.

Action. Wonder. Adventure. Artemis II has got it all. Don’t miss the moment. Our crewed Moon mission will launch as early as April 1.

Learn how to watch: https://t.co/fAg0bGAqEc pic.twitter.com/2uhg8EhwTv

— NASA (@NASA) March 30, 2026

NASA’s free streaming platform, NASA+, provides live coverage and original programming, and official social media channels are also streaming simultaneously. Below are the live broadcast visuals from the official YouTube channel:

32-story rocket, 10-day mission

The “Space Launch System” (SLS) rocket carrying out this mission stands as tall as 32 stories—marking the first crewed flight of NASA’s next-generation Moon rocket. The mission process is divided into three phases: after the rocket lifts off, the spacecraft first conducts about a day in Earth orbit to confirm the systems are functioning normally. Then the “Orion” spacecraft ignites on a translunar trajectory. After completing an orbit and flyby near the Moon, it quickly returns—there is no landing on the lunar surface and no mid-mission docking.

The entire mission is expected to last about 10 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said: “Our team has put in tremendous effort to get to this moment. At this time, all signs show things are—very, very good.”

Hydrogen fuel leak, helium line blockage—after bumping along the way, it’s only reached today

The mission was originally slated to launch this February, but it was delayed due to a hydrogen fuel leak issue. After engineers repaired the leak, they discovered that the helium pressurization pipeline was blocked. The rocket then had to retreat from the launch pad and return to the hangar for additional repairs, a bit later than planned.

After all the repeated setbacks and fixes, it finally returned to the launch site at the end of March, preparing for this moment.

Crew highlights: women, people of color, non-U.S. nationals

The lineup of crew members is itself part of history. The four astronauts are: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Koch is the female member of this mission; Glover is a person of color; and Hansen is a non-U.S. astronaut. Three “firsts” happening at the same time in a single mission means that the significance of Artemis II goes far beyond a technical demonstration.

More importantly, this is the first time SLS’s heavy rocket has carried a crewed flight—marking that NASA’s return-to-the-Moon program has officially entered the crewed phase.

Note: The last time humans flew close to the Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972.