What time will Artemis II launch in the UK? Everything you need to know from where to watch, to who's on the crew
Here’s the exact time people in the UK can tune in and watch the launch of NASA’s Artemis II live.
NASA’s Artemis II mission will launch today, the agency’s first manned mission to the moon in more than 50 years.
The four astronaut strong crew will blast off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida this afternoon – barring any last minute issues or poor weather conditions – as part of the mission which will head deeper into space than anyone has ever gone before.
In total, the astronauts will travel 685,000 miles aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
The journey should take around ten days to fly around the moon, with the crew’s objectives to test the Orion’s life support systems and to lay the foundations for further crewed Artemis missions.
It follows the unmanned Artemis I mission in November 2022, which successfully went into orbit around the moon.
Here is everything you need to know about the Artemis II mission - including the exact time it will launch in the UK, where you can watch and more.
When will the Artemis II launch UK time?
The two-hour launch window for the Artemis II is scheduled to begin at 11.24pm on Wednesday, April 1 in the UK, which is 6.24pm in Florida.
NASA will officially begin live coverage of the event from 5.50pm in the UK, however there is still plenty to be done before then with preparations such as loading propellant into the Space Launch System (SLS) beginning at around 12.45pm.
Where can I watch the Artemis II launch in the UK?
If you live in the UK – and are willing to stay up late – there are plenty of ways to watch the launch of Artemis II, as it unfolds.
There will be an official NASA livestream of the Artemis II’s launch available to watch on platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and X, from 5.50pm in the UK (12.50pm EDT).
Come back and watch the Artemis II launch livestream here
Coverage will include prelaunch, launch, splashdown, and other activities, with a continuous feed over the Kennedy Space Centre and from Orion to be provided when possible.
You can also watch the Artemis II launch via NASA+, the space agency’s streaming service which is available via third party streamers such as Amazon Prime or Apple TV, as well as via the NASA app.
Why is NASA sending the Artemis II to the moon?
The Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed test flight in the Artemis campaign, following a mission in 2022.
The goal of the Artemis project is to allow astronauts to eventually explore the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits and, eventually, to help build momentum for humans to travel to Mars.
The goal of this mission in particular is to confirm the systems necessary to support astronauts during deep space exploration, such as how the crew and systems handle the project, and to gather data for future missions.
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Who is on the Artemis II crew?
There are four crew members travelling aboard the Orion: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The Artemis II crew is led by commander Reid Wiseman, who was previously a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May through November of 2014.
Victor Glover will pilot the mission, having been selected as an astronaut in 2013 while serving as a legislative fellow in the US Senate. Glover recently served as the pilot of the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft, which flew to the International Space Station.
Mission specialist Christina Koch has been an astronaut since 2013, and previously lived and worked on the International Space Station for almost all of 2019 in Expeditions 59, 60, and 61. She has spent a total of 328 consecutive days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
CSA astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen rounds out the crew. A former fighter pilot, he is also a mission specialist for the Artemis II - which will see him become the first Canadian to fly around the moon. He was first selected as an astronaut in 2009, and has participated in a number international training missions and more.
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