NASA Is Sending Humans Back to the Moon on April 1 — And No, It's Not a Joke

Humans Are Going Back to the Moon — Like, in Two Weeks

The last time a human being went anywhere near the moon was December 1972. Apollo 17. I wasn't alive. You probably weren't either. And for over fifty years, nobody's been back.

That's about to change.

NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch on April 1, 2026 — yes, April Fools' Day, which is honestly the most NASA thing ever — and it'll send four astronauts on a loop around the moon and back. Not a landing. Not yet. But the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since the Nixon administration.

When I first heard about this last year I figured it'd get delayed again. Artemis has been pushed back so many times I'd stopped keeping track. But here's the thing — the crew enters quarantine tomorrow. March 18. At Johnson Space Center in Houston. They're heading to Florida on the 27th. This is actually happening.

So What Exactly Is Artemis II?

Here's the short version. Four astronauts get strapped into NASA's Orion spacecraft, which sits on top of the Space Launch System — the most powerful rocket ever built. They launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, orbit Earth a couple times to check out the spacecraft's systems, then fire toward the moon.

The whole mission takes about 10 days. They'll fly within 4,600 miles of the lunar surface — close enough to see craters with the naked eye — and then use the moon's gravity to sling back toward Earth. It's called a free-return trajectory, which sounds way cooler than it probably should.

At reentry, Orion will be traveling around 25,000 miles per hour. That makes Artemis II both the farthest AND the fastest crewed space mission in history. By a pretty wide margin too.

No landing this time though. That's Artemis III, currently targeted for 2028. This mission is more of a "let's make sure everything works before we put boots on the surface" situation. Honestly? I'm fine with that approach. Test it first.

This Crew Is Making History Before They Even Launch

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Commander Reid Wiseman is a Navy test pilot and former ISS resident. He's the one running the show. Pilot Victor Glover — also Navy, also an ISS vet — will become the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Ever.

Christina Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (328 days on the ISS), and she'll be the first woman to fly toward the moon. Then there's Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, who's the first non-American to ever reach deep space.

I don't think people realize how stacked this crew is. Four astronauts, three historic firsts, and a combined resume that would make most fighter pilot movies look boring. My buddy texted me when the crew was announced and just said "this roster is insane" — and honestly, yeah. He wasn't wrong.

That Rocket Almost Didn't Make It to the Pad

The SLS — NASA's Space Launch System — is an absolute beast. It's 322 feet tall and generates 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. But getting it ready for this mission hasn't been smooth.

Back in February, after a successful fueling test, engineers found a problem with the helium system that regulates fuel tank pressure. They had to roll the whole thing back into the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs. Just to be clear — that means moving a 322-foot rocket on a crawler at about 1 mph. Not exactly a quick fix.

Turns out a blocked seal inside a cable was causing the issue. They fixed it, ran the checks, and rolled back out to the launch pad. But for a few weeks there, people were legit worried about another multi-month delay. I was one of those people.

Then on March 12, NASA held a risk assessment review and gave unanimous approval for the April 1 launch date. So here we are.

How to Watch the Launch Without Paying a Dime

Photo by Steve Busch on Unsplash

The launch window opens at 5:24 PM Eastern on April 1, with backup windows through April 6 (and one more on April 30 if things go sideways).

NASA+ is the main stream — no subscription, no ads, coverage starts about six hours before launch. You can also watch on NASA TV, NASA's YouTube channel, their Facebook page, or their X account. Basically anywhere NASA has an account, they'll be streaming it.

For TV people — ABC, NBC, and CBS are expected to carry the launch live. CNN and Fox News have both confirmed coverage too. Internationally, the BBC will carry it on BBC iPlayer for free, and Sky News will livestream on their site.

None of this costs anything. There's zero reason you can't watch this live from your couch. Or your phone during a boring meeting. I'm not judging.

If you want to go in person, Kennedy Space Center is selling viewing packages, but fair warning — the good spots sold out months ago. You can still watch from nearby beaches and parks though. Titusville and the Max Brewer Bridge are popular spots from what I've seen on Reddit.

What Happens After They Get Back

Assuming Artemis II goes well — and right now there's genuine optimism that it will — the next step is Artemis III, currently targeted for September 2028. That's the one where astronauts actually land on the lunar surface for the first time since '72.

SpaceX is building the lunar lander for that mission (a modified Starship), and Blue Origin's got a contract for a second lander option. The whole Artemis program is basically building toward a permanent lunar base camp — and eventually, using that as a jumping-off point for Mars.

But that's years away. Right now, on April 1, four humans are going to strap into a capsule the size of a large SUV and fly 5,000 miles past the far side of the moon.

I keep thinking about what Victor Glover said in an interview a few days ago: "The moon has been waiting for us." Corny? Maybe. But something about it hit different.