Historic Nasa mission ready for blast off in first moon voyage in over 50 years

Marcus Donaldson
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:17:40 +0000

Four astronauts are now secured inside the Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, awaiting the beginning of the historic moon mission set to launch later tonight.

The two-hour launch window is set at 11:24pm BST, with Nasa's Space Launch System rocket poised to carry the crew on their lunar voyage.

Earlier this evening, the quartet emerged to cheering crowds before making their way to the launch pad and into the capsule of their craft, dubbed Integrity.

Once strapped in, they began powering up onboard computers, running communications checks and rehearsing emergency procedures.

Nasa officials confirmed the mission remains on schedule, with associate administrator Amit Kshatriya stating: "The vehicle is ready. The system is ready. The crew is ready."

The mission commander is Reid Wiseman, a veteran Nasa astronaut who will lead the crew through their ten-day journey around the Moon and back.

Victor Glover serves as a pilot, while Christina Koch serves as a mission specialist for the American space agency.

Joining them is Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut and colonel who becomes the first non-American to venture beyond low Earth orbit.

Together, the four will embark on an approximately 685,000-mile voyage, looping around Earth's natural satellite before returning home.

FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT…

MAPPED: The Artemis II mission

The King's message to Nasa astronauts

King Charles has sent a personal letter to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen.

The monarch acknowledged the growing importance of responsible stewardship as space exploration and the commercial space sector continue to expand rapidly.

In his message to the crew, the King said: "As you embark on this momentous endeavour, I send you and your fellow crew members my heartfelt good wishes.

“May the stars align in your favour, and may your safe return inspire countless others to uphold the values of sustainability, cooperation and wonder that the Astra Carta inspires."

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The British engineers helping take Artemis II to the moon

Dozens of science and technology firms based in the United Kingdom are making significant contributions to Nasa's first crewed Moon mission in more than half a century in a triumph for British engineering.

In January 2025, Thales Alenia Space signed a £750million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to contribute towards the Artemis programme.

Its scientists, based in Harwell, Oxfordshire, are designing the propulsion solution for the Lunar Gateway — more commonly known as "Gateway".

Another firm helping with the Artimus programme is John Crane, whose core engineering is based at its headquarters in Slough, Berkshire.

Jeroen Huizinga, the company's Senior Director for Auxiliary Products and New Energy Solutions, highlighted his team's work on filtration sieves, which are designed to keep propellant tanks required for manoeuvring Orion free of gas bubbles.

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Welcome to the GB News Artemis II live blog

Good evening and welcome to the GB News Artemis II launch live blog.

Join us throughout the night as we cover the launch of humanity's first crewed voyage to the Moon since Apollo 17 touched down on the Moon's surface in December 1972.

The Orion capsule will carry four astronauts roughly 4,700 miles past the Moon's far side, setting a new record for human spaceflight distance.

Nasa chief flight director Emily Nelson said: "The opportunity is immense for us to finally get the opportunity to send our crew farther than anyone's gone before."

Although the crew will not set foot on the lunar surface, their primary task is to rigorously evaluate Orion's life support, propulsion, power, and navigation systems during the deep-space portion of the flight.