Children sat wide-eyed in front of televisions, teenagers followed updates on their phones and adults streamed coverage throughout the day as NASA’s Artemis II mission launched into space. The mission not only marked humanity’s return to deep-space lunar travel, but also featured one of the most diverse crews ever sent around the moon.
The crew included Reid Wiseman, a Navy veteran; Victor J. Glover, the first Black astronaut to travel around the moon; Christina Koch, the first woman to travel around the moon; and Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian to travel around the moon.
“Praying for the safety and success of the Artemis II crew and @NASA as they undertake a mission that will carry humanity farther into space than we have gone in over half a century,” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
The mission also marked the first time astronauts traveled around the moon since the Apollo-era missions in the 1970s.
On April 1, 2026, the Artemis II crew launched into space and completed a 10-day journey around the moon. The mission aimed to help scientists better understand how spacecraft travel through deep space and prepare for future lunar exploration missions.
According to NASA, “The spacecraft will pass within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface during its closest approach and will reach a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth, about 4,105 miles farther than Apollo 13.”
The Artemis II mission traveled farther into space than any previous human mission.
Wiseman served as commander of the spacecraft. He has been an astronaut since 2009 and previously served as a flight engineer.
While orbiting the moon, the crew noticed a crater visible to the human eye. The crew unofficially named the crater Carroll Taylor Wiseman after Wiseman’s late wife.
“It’s the brightest thing over there,” Wiseman said regarding the crater.
The crater has not yet been officially named, though the Artemis II astronauts submitted a request.
Glover served as pilot of the spacecraft. He became an astronaut in 2013 and previously served as a pilot on the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft mission.
“Seeing Earth from here is quite spectacular, and it also makes me realize how important it is that we do all that we can to take care of it,” Glover said.
Koch served as one of the mission specialists aboard the spacecraft. Mission specialists monitor and command different spacecraft operations, including hatch systems and onboard procedures.
Koch became an astronaut in 2013 and previously served as a flight engineer.
“Most kids probably dream of being an astronaut,” Koch said. “I was just one that never grew out of it.”
Hansen served as the second mission specialist. His responsibilities included monitoring medical supplies, water and emergency equipment while also operating the docking hatch.
Hansen joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009.
“Follow your passions, but also share your passions with other people,” Hansen said.
While the entire Artemis II crew made history, Koch, Glover and Hansen each accomplished individual milestones during the mission. Koch became the first woman to travel around the moon, Glover became the first Black astronaut to travel around the moon and Hansen became the first Canadian to travel around the moon.
“Homo sapiens, all of us, no matter where you’re from or what you look like,” Glover said. “We’re all one people.”