Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 2, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 2, 2026
NASA Artemis II astronauts blast off to moon, the first crewed lunar mission in decades
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The Artemis II crewed lunar mission launches at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP)
Four astronauts blast off aboard a massive NASA rocket on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
With an intense roar that reverberates far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 p.m. local time, according to an AFP journalist onsite.
“We’re going to the Moon!” yells a spectator.
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