The live broadcast of the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission to the Moon

In a few moments, NASA is scheduled to launch its Artemis II mission, NASA's first crewed mission within the Artemis program.

A video shows what happens inside space rockets during their launches
The history and interior of VAB, NASA's massive rocket assembly building

The launch will take place from Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This 10-day mission will fly around the Moon, without landing, to test the life support systems of the Orion MPCV (Multipurpose Crew Vehicle) spacecraft. You can watch the launch live on NASA's YouTube channel and the video player below:

The launch is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 1st at 6:24 PM local time in Florida (April 2nd at 12:24 AM Madrid time), unless there are any delays or impediments that force a postponement.

This mission has a crew of four people: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The rocket used in this mission is a Space Launch System (SLS). It is 98 meters tall, with a diameter of 8.4 meters at its core stage and 5.1 meters at its Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). The rocket has a mass of 2,610 tons and can carry a payload of 70,000 to 130,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

The Orion MPCV spacecraft is 3.3 meters long and 5.03 meters in diameter, with a mass of 8.5 tons. It has a maximum capacity of 4 crew members. Above, we can see the Orion MPCV spacecraft from the Artemis I mission, launched on November 16, 2022.

Above these lines we can see a diagram published by NASA that indicates the milestones of this mission (click on the image to see it enlarged).

---

Images: NASA.