Artemis II crew begins "crazy first day" in space after exhilarating launch

With an exhilarating launch behind them, NASA's Artemis II astronauts are turning their attention to the next big challenge of their historic mission: a "crazy first day" in space.

The crew is spending about 24 hours orbiting the Earth while they put their Orion capsule through its paces before finally heading for the moon. Their spectacular launch Wednesday evening marked the first piloted moonshot since the end of the Apollo program 53 years ago.

The Artemis II crewed lunar mission launches at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. Gregg Newton /AFP via Getty Images Artemis II crew's plan after launch

The Artemis crew will not land on the moon or even go into lunar orbit. Instead, the plan is to loop around it, getting an unprecedented view of the far side of the moon. In the process, the astronauts — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — are expected to travel farther from Earth than anyone before them.

But first, they must thoroughly test their Orion capsule, which is making only its second flight — and its first with a crew on board — to make sure it's up to the task.

At the same time, the mission will test flight controllers and procedures needed to safely send astronauts back to the moon for long-duration stays as NASA makes plans for a future moon base.

"This is a test flight," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CBS News. "This is the opening act in a series of missions that will send astronauts to and from the moon with great frequency as we return to stay."

Illustration of NASA's Artemis II mission plan

NASA's Artemis II mission plans to take a crew of four in the Orion spacecraft around the moon and back to Earth. Graphic by Jonathan WALTER and Paz PIZARRO / AFP via Getty Images

After an eight-minute climb to space on Wednesday, two upper stage engine firings put the astronauts in a highly elliptical 24-hour-long orbit, giving them plenty of time to check out the Orion capsule, making sure the ship's communications, navigation, propulsion and life support systems are working properly.

"It is a crazy first day," Wiseman told CBS News.

"That one 24-hour orbit gives us time to check out all of (Orion's) environmental control, life support systems," Wiseman said. "Can it scrub our carbon dioxide? Can it keep us alive? Can we drink water? Can we go to the bathroom? All those basic human functions."

"We've got to go get those things tested before we press out to the moon," he added.

Speaking of the capsule's cramped toilet compartment, which resembles a small telephone booth in the floor of the capsule, Koch reported problems shortly after reaching orbit as she was activating the system.

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026. Steve Nesius / REUTERS

"Christina, with the toilet, the fault that you reported, the toilet cannot spin up," a flight controller radioed. "You can still use it for fecal collection, but you'll have to use (contingency bags) for urine." He said engineers were working on a repair plan and promised an update later.

A major objective of the flight came a little more than three hours into the mission when Glover took over manual control of the Orion capsule.

"We are essentially going to make sure that the vehicle flies the way that we think it does, that we designed it to do," Glover said.

During the testing late Wednesday, he was able to precisely position the Orion capsule around the upper stage that helped boost the ship into orbit, saying the thrusters produced "a little rumble, like driving on a rocky road."

Orion pilot Victor Glover, left, and mission commander Reid Wiseman, right, test the spacecraft's maneuverability while flying in formation with the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System rocket that helped boost them into space. NASA

The crew was expected to end an 18-hour day with two four-hour sleep periods early Thursday.

They'll get up after the first break to monitor a firing of their own service module engine to adjust their orbit. At that point, the crew will get another four hours to nap.

In the meantime, NASA's mission management team will review Orion's performance to that point and, if all goes well, declare the spacecraft "go" for the all-important "trans-lunar injection," or TLI, service module engine firing.

The planned six-minute TLI burn, expected Thursday evening as the spacecraft races through the low point of its orbit, will increase the spacecraft's velocity by about 900 mph, breaking the ship out of Earth orbit to finally head for the moon.

The TLI burn will put the Orion on a free-return trajectory. As the ship loops around the moon, lunar gravity will bend the trajectory back toward a precisely targeted Pacific Ocean splashdown off the Southern California coast on April 10.

Artemis II Launches Manned Test Flight Around The Moon

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialist Christina Koch walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II on April 1. Joe Raedle / Getty Images How long will it take Artemis II astronauts to get to the moon?

The trip to the moon will take about four days.

On Monday, the astronauts will enter the "lunar sphere of influence" and begin speeding up as the moon's gravitational pull finally begins exceeding Earth's.

Later that day, the spacecraft will reach a distance of some 248,650 miles from Earth — the exact number is not yet known — equaling and then surpassing a record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

The Orion will pass behind the leading edge of the moon and out of contact with mission control for about 40 minutes on Monday evening. Sailing over the far side of the moon, the astronauts will pass within about 4,100 miles of the lunar surface at close approach and reach a maximum distance from Earth of some 252,800 miles.

During passage around the far side, about a quarter of the moon will be in sunlight, giving the astronauts a chance to observe, photograph and shoot video of features never before seen by human eyes.

"We are going to maximize every minute of looking at that far side," Koch said. "There are launch windows where we could have illumination that will allow us to see things for the first time ever with human eyes, and that actually makes a difference to the people doing the scientific data analysis."

Added Glover: "Twenty-four men have seen the moon, and we're going to send the first set of woman's eyes. They think that she can potentially see colors that we may not see. And so I think that's also very important."

The crew will then fly back into view from Earth, restoring communications with mission control in Houston.

The spacecraft will leave the lunar sphere of influence Tuesday afternoon as it heads back to Earth, steadily picking up speed as the planet's gravity resumes its attraction.

When will Artemis II crew return to Earth?

Next Thursday, April 9, the astronauts will attempt a ship-to-ship call with the crew of the International Space Station, followed by a crew news conference later that afternoon.

That will set the stage for reentry on Friday, April 10.

Flying heat shield forward, the Orion will hit the top of the discernible atmosphere while moving at some 25,000 mph. The heat shield will experience temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees as the spacecraft rapidly slows in a blaze of atmospheric friction.

Once through the zone of maximum heating, the capsule will be descending at a much more sedate velocity of 300 mph or so. A series of parachutes will sequentially deploy to slow the craft to a relatively gentle 15 mph splashdown.

Navy crews will be standing by to help the astronauts out of their spaceship for short helicopter rides to a nearby ship.

"I think Jeremy said it best, when that hatch opens on the Pacific Ocean, we'll probably be pretty ready to get out," Koch said. "But a part of us will know that there are some moments left that we will miss forever and probably won't ever get to have back."

The Orion will be hauled aboard while the astronauts, after medical checks and calls home to family and friends, will be taken to shore for a flight back to the Johnson Space Center for debriefing, more detailed medical checks and family reunions.

What happens after Artemis II mission is completed

With the Artemis II crew back on the ground, NASA's focus will shift to the Artemis III mission and beyond, gearing up for another Orion crew to test rendezvous and docking procedures next year with one or both moon landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

If that goes well, NASA plans to launch one and possibly two moon landing missions in 2028.

"It's important because we're fulfilling a promise ... for America's return to the moon as a stepping stone for all the things that we are going to do farther out into our solar system, like some day American astronauts planting the stars and stripes on Mars," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in an interview with CBS News.

"So you're doing it for the scientific potential, the economic potential as a technological proving ground to do the things on the moon that you're going to need on Mars.

"And how about inspiring the next generation?" he added. "How many kids after this mission are going to dress up as astronauts for Halloween and want to grow up and contribute to this great adventure?"

Artemis II launches into orbit as NASA begins historic moon mission