On 1 April 2026, a Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Ten days later they splashed down in the Pacific off San Diego, having become the first humans to travel to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis II did not land. It did not even orbit. What it did was fly a loop around the far side of the Moon and come home — a deceptively simple-sounding flight that set a distance record standing since 1970.
The Mission in Numbers
That first figure is the headline. 413,146 kilometres from the centre of Earth is the farthest any human being has ever been from the planet, beating the record set by Apollo 13 when its crew swung around the Moon on a damaged spacecraft in 1970.
The second figure explains why. Orion passed 8,282 km from the Moon's centre — far enough out that the loop around the far side carried it to a greater total distance than the Apollo missions that flew closer.
Why It Didn't Orbit the Moon
This is the detail most coverage skipped, and it is the most interesting engineering decision of the mission.
Artemis II flew a free-return trajectory. The spacecraft was aimed so that lunar gravity alone would curve it back toward Earth, with no engine burn required to come home. Point it correctly, let go, and physics does the rest.
Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 entered lunar orbit, which requires firing an engine to slow down — and firing it again to leave. If that engine fails, the crew is stranded. A free return removes that failure mode entirely, which is exactly why Apollo 13 survived: it was already on one when its oxygen tank exploded.
A free return: lunar gravity bends the path back toward Earth without requiring a burn.
Artemis II was a test of the spacecraft with people aboard for the first time. Choosing a trajectory that brings the crew home even if the main engine never fires again is not caution — it is the whole point of a shakedown flight.
What Happened, Day by Day
- Apr 1Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center at 22:35 UTC. Orion reaches Earth orbit and deploys its solar arrays.
- Apr 2Separation from the upper stage. Later that day, the translunar injection burn commits the spacecraft to the Moon.
- Apr 3–5Coasting outbound. Two planned trajectory corrections are cancelled — the aim is good enough without them.
- Apr 6Closest approach to the Moon, then maximum distance from Earth just minutes later. The record is set on the far side.
- Apr 7–9Inbound coast. The crew reports watching a lunar eclipse from a vantage point no human has had before.
- Apr 10Crew module separates from the service module. Entry interface at 122 km, then splashdown in the Pacific at 00:07 UTC on 11 April.
Replay the Real Trajectory
Here is what makes Artemis II unusual for tracking purposes: NASA published the actual navigation data from the flight, not a plan or an estimate. Post-flight trajectory files from mission navigation were released and are available through NASA/JPL's ephemeris system.
That data is what the SatFleet Live Deep Space map uses. Open Playback, pick any date between 2 and 10 April 2026, and Orion appears where it genuinely was — leaving Earth, arcing around the Moon, falling back.
It is worth doing at a slow speed around 6 April. Watching the spacecraft curve past the Moon and start falling homeward, without a single engine firing, makes the free-return concept land in a way that no diagram quite manages.
How to do it
Open the Deep Space map, tap Playback, select a date in the first half of April 2026, and press Go. Artemis II appears in white, marked as a crewed mission — a distinction the map makes because not everything out there carries people.
The Missing First Day
If you try to replay 1 April, the launch day, you will not find Orion. This is not a bug, and the reason is a small lesson in how spacecraft tracking actually works.
NASA's published trajectory begins three hours and twenty-four minutes after liftoff, at the moment the upper stage separated. Before that point, Orion was not yet an independently navigated object — it was cargo on top of a rocket, and the tracking that generates the trajectory file had not taken over.
The same limitation applies to every launch, everywhere. Ascent trajectories are simply not published as data, which is a problem we go into properly in why nobody can tell you a rocket's exact path.
The published data also ends a few hours before splashdown, at 23:51 UTC on 10 April. Replays stop there rather than at the moment of impact with the water.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far did Artemis II travel from Earth?
Orion reached a maximum distance of 413,146 kilometres from the centre of Earth on 6 April 2026, setting a record for the farthest humans have ever travelled from the planet. The previous record had stood since Apollo 13 in 1970.
Did Artemis II orbit the Moon?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about the mission. Artemis II flew a free-return trajectory, looping around the far side of the Moon and using lunar gravity to swing back toward Earth without ever entering lunar orbit. Its closest approach was 8,282 kilometres from the centre of the Moon. Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 orbited; Artemis II followed the Apollo 13 style of flight instead, because a free return brings the crew home even if the main engine fails.
Who was on board Artemis II?
Four astronauts: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch, all of NASA, plus Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. They were the first humans to travel to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Can I still track Artemis II now that the mission is over?
Not live, because the spacecraft came home. But you can replay the entire flight. NASA published the actual navigation trajectory, and SatFleet Live uses that data in its Deep Space playback, so you can select any date between 2 and 10 April 2026 and watch Orion move along the path it really flew.
How long did the Artemis II mission last?
About ten days. Orion lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on 1 April 2026 at 22:35 UTC and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on 11 April at 00:07 UTC.
Why is there no trajectory data for the first day of the flight?
NASA's published navigation data begins after the upper stage separated, roughly three and a half hours after liftoff. Before that point Orion was still attached to the rocket stage, and the tracking that produces the trajectory file had not yet taken over. That is why replays start on 2 April rather than 1 April.
What comes after Artemis II?
Artemis III is intended to put astronauts back on the lunar surface, near the south pole, with a longer-term goal of a permanent presence later in the decade. Artemis II existed to prove the spacecraft could carry people that far and bring them back — which it did.
Watch Artemis II Fly Again
Real NASA navigation data, replayed on a 3D map of the solar system.
Open Deep Space Playback