Artemis II Lunar Flyby

Artemis II achieved the first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in 1972, ending a 54-year gap. The four-person crew, including the first Canadian astronaut beyond low Earth orbit, launched on April 1, 2026, aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 rocket, which generated 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Orion reached 370,000 kilometers from Earth—farther than any crewed spacecraft since Apollo—and its systems performed flawlessly. With 18 experiments and Victor Glover as the first African American beyond Earth orbit, the $4.1 billion mission unlocked funding for Artemis III through V, marking the most pivotal gate in NASA's 21st-century strategy.