Artemis II moon mission launch time, where to watch, history and what to expect

NASA plans to launch four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon as early as Wednesday. Here's what to know about the Artemis II mission.

The countdown is on for the launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission around the moon.

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At 6:24 p.m. ET Wednesday, four astronauts are scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning a 10-day journey that will take them looping around Earth and the moon.

The crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will be the first people to launch toward the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, more than 50 years ago. They will not land on the lunar surface; rather, the mission is designed as a step toward a landing in 2028, and eventually, toward NASA’s goal of establishing a long-term presence on the moon.