Artemis II flight tracker: Live updates as astronauts pass halfway point
"We can see the moon out of the docking hatch right now. It's a beautiful sight."
The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission are now closer to the moon than they are to Earththe first time humans have even approached the moon for more than half a century. This mission paves the way for a moon landing as early as 2028.
Since the ship's successful launch from Florida on WednesdayApril 1the Artemis II mission has traveled more than 152,000 miles away from Earth as of 6 a.m. SaturdayApril 4.
That leaves the astronauts more than 124,000 miles from the moonbut they're making good time. Artemis II is traveling at more than 2,600 miles an houraccording to NASAafter a scheduled trajectory correction Friday afternoon to fine-tune the Orion spacecraft's path. That's the first of three smaller engine firings coming up that will make sure Orion stays on target.
Want to follow along?
NASA has a website and an app to help you keep track of everyone during the 10-day mission intended to send people to the far side of the moon and back.
Here's what to know about NASA's Artemis II tracker.
Artemis II tracker: Follow moon mission with live updates
NASA has an online tracker for Artemis II available on desktop and as a mobile app.
The trackerofficially referred to as the "Artemis Real-Time Orbit Website" (or AROW)allows users to not only see where the Orion spacecraft is and how fast it's travelingbut to see in miles how far it is from both the Earth and the moon during its 10-day mission toward and around the moonaccording to NASA.
The desktop website version includes key mission milestones and characteristics about the moonincluding information about landing sites during the Apollo era.
The mobile version for smartphones included in NASA's app is similarwith the addition of an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones to see where Orion currently is relative to Earth.
➤ Download the app here: Apple App Store | Google Play
The data is collected in real time by sensors on Orion and then sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. That information has been updated since one minute after liftoff and will continue until Orion begins its reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
Artemis II mission: Where is the Orion capsule now?
Shortly before 6 a.m. on April 4astronauts were more than 152,000 miles from Earth.
At 2 days and 11 hours into their 10-day missionthe astronauts are traveling at 2,685 mph and have just over 124,000 miles to go before reaching the moon.
What will Artemis II crew do todayApril 4?
The Artemis crew was woken up this morning to the sounds of “In a Daydream” by Freddy Jones Band. NASA said. According to the agencyon SaturdayApril 4the astronauts will:
Fire a second outbound trajectory correction burn to refine the ship's path
Each astronaut will review the geography targets on the moon's surface that they've been asked to get imagery of on day 6
20 minutes on the schedule have been set aside solely to take photos of celestial bodies from Orion;s windows
When will Artemis 2 mission reach back side of the moon?
"After the TLI burn that sent Orion on its path to the moonthe lunar science team began building a Lunar Targeting Plana guide to what the crew will look at on the moon’s surface during its approximately six-hour observation on MondayApril 6," according to NASA.
The plan includes:
Documenting features that can help scientists understand how the Moon and solar system formedsuch as cratersancient lava flowsand cracks and ridges created as the Moon’s outer layer slowly shifted over time.
One feature added to the plan is a solar eclipsewhich will last for nearly an hour toward the end of the flyby window.
Solar eclipse offers fresh perspective of moon during Artemis II mission
"During the eclipsethe sun will be hidden from view as it moves behind the moon from the perspective of Orion," NASA said.
"The crew will see a mostly dark moon at this time — an opportunity for them to look for flashes of light from meteoroids striking the moon’s surfacedust lofting above the edge of the moonand deep space targetsincluding planets.
"While the sun slides behind the moonthe crew will observe the solar coronathe sun’s outermost atmospherewhile it’s visible."
Want more? Follow NASA on social media
Get the latest imagery and live updates from the Artemis II mission at:
@NASAArtemis on X
Watch Artemis II lift off from Kennedy Space CenterFlorida
See photos of Artemis II launch for historic moon mission
What is the mission of Artemis II?
Under its Artemis campaignNASA intends to return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions came to an end in 1972.
NASA is planning to establish a permanent foothold on the lunar south poleusing a series of crewed and uncrewed missions in the years ahead to build a moon base.
From therethe first humans could head toward Mars.
The 10-day mission primarily serves as a test flightwith the four-person crew testing systems and hardware ahead of a future moon landing.
When will we land on the moon?
In 2027another crew of astronauts is due to ride Orion to Earth orbit to test docking capabilities with one or both of the commercial lunar landers being developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
A lunar landing would then come in 2028 under Artemis IV.
Will Artemis II return to Florida?
No. When they return to Earththe astronauts in the Orion capsule will make a parachute-assisted water landing in the Pacific Ocean near California.
Meet the Artemis II crew
The four crew members of Artemis II are:
NASA astronaut Reid Wisemana Baltimore native and the mission's commander who last flew to space in 2014 on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Victor Gloverthe pilot from PomonaCaliforniawho flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.
NASA astronaut Christina Kocha mission specialist from Grand RapidsMichiganwho holds several space agency records and who flew in 2019 on a Soyuz ISS mission.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansenanother mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.
Contributing: Brooke EdwardsFLORIDA TODAY
Cheryl McCloudEric Lagattaand C. A. Bridges are journalists for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletterFlorida TODAYat https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Artemis II flight tracker. Saturday updates on Orion location