Washington. After about 54 years, man is once again taking steps towards the Moon. US space agency NASA’s first manned mission Artemis-II was successfully launched from Florida at 4:05 am Indian time on Thursday. Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reed Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen are aboard this mission, which were sent into space via SLS rocket. This 10-day journey will take the astronauts to a distance of about 4.06 lakh kilometers from the Earth, which is considered to be the longest human space journey till date.
Under the Artemis-II mission, astronauts will go close to the moon, but will not land there. It is a test mission, the purpose of which is to test the technology and capabilities required for future lunar missions. The entire mission will be completed in about 10 days and the astronauts will orbit the Moon and return safely to Earth.
Liftoff.
The Artemis II mission launched from @NASAKennedy at 6:35pm ET (2235 UTC), propelling four astronauts on a journey around the Moon.
Artemis II will pave the way for future Moon landings, as well as the next giant leap — astronauts on Mars. pic.twitter.com/ENQA4RTqAc
— NASA (@NASA) April 1, 2026
NASA has invited people to witness this historic moment by posting on social media before the launch. The agency said that this mission is a big step towards settling humans on the Moon and further to Mars.
4 astronauts will travel around the moon on a 10-day journey
NASA’s Artemis-II mission is a story far beyond orbiting the moon. This is going to be a real test of the human body in deep space for the first time. Four astronauts will go beyond the Earth’s safety limits and face cosmic radiation and space conditions, where every change in their bodies will be recorded. After 50 years, this journey of humans is not only historical, but also a decisive scientific experiment for future long space journeys.
According to NASA, the Artemis-II mission will carry four astronauts on an approximately 10-day journey around the moon. For the first time since 1972, humans will go beyond the Earth’s magnetic fold and this distance may be greater than any human space travel till date. This mission is part of the Artemis Program series, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon. This will be very important.
Changes in the body will be analyzed through chip
The most advanced application of this mission is Organ on-a-Chip technology. Cells obtained from each astronaut’s blood will be grown on a microchip. One chip will go to space and the other will remain on Earth. After the mission, comparisons will be made to see how much difference there is in DNA damage, telomere length and other biological indicators. This will be the first time that such an experiment is being conducted outside low-Earth orbit. The greatest importance of this technology will come in the future, when NASA will be able to predict in advance the effects of deep space on the body of any potential astronaut. That means it will be possible to assess the risk even before space travel.
How many times has the launch of Artemis-2 been postponed?
Recently some changes have been made in the launch dates of Artemis-2 mission. Originally this mission was planned to be launched in February 2026 (between 6 and 8 February). But due to some problems encountered during the rocket refueling tests, NASA had to postpone its launch. After this, NASA had also fixed a possible launch window for March (6 to 9 March and 11 March), but the mission could not fly on those dates.
After continuous tests and preparations, NASA is now ready to launch this historic mission on April 1, 2026. It can be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the evening of April 1. When Artemis-2 will be launched, it will be morning on April 2 in India. Meanwhile, if the launch is not possible on April 1 due to weather or any other technical reason, then NASA has some other backup dates in April itself, which include April 3 to 6 and April 30. Overall, NASA is now aiming to send this mission to space in April 2026 itself.
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