Artemis II Live Tracker: Mission Timeline, Crew, and How to Follow NASA's Moon Mission

Artemis II was not just another NASA mission. It was the first crewed flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft around the Moon, a nearly 10-day test flight that launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on April 10, 2026.

If you were searching for an Artemis II live tracker, the official tool to know is NASA's Artemis Real-time Orbit Website, known as AROW. During the mission, AROW allowed the public to follow Orion's position, distance from Earth, distance from the Moon, mission duration, and trajectory from about one minute after liftoff through atmospheric reentry.

The mission is now complete, but the tracker, trajectory data, mission recap, and flight milestones still matter. They are the best way to understand what Artemis II proved, how Orion moved through deep space, and what NASA learned before the next Artemis missions.

Where to track Artemis II

The official Artemis II tracking experience was NASA's AROW system. NASA made AROW available through its website and the NASA app, giving anyone with internet access a way to visualize Orion's path around Earth and the Moon.

NASA also made trajectory data available as an ephemeris after the mission began, allowing developers, visualization teams, telescope users, and space enthusiasts to work with official flight data. For mission video and live coverage, NASA distributes programming through NASA+, the NASA app, web browsers, streaming devices, YouTube, Twitch, X, Facebook, and other platforms.

On CosmoHub, the best way to follow this kind of mission is to use the mission page, livestream section, and newsletter alerts together. The official source gives you the raw mission truth; CosmoHub should help you understand what matters, when to watch, and what each milestone means.

Artemis II mission at a glance

Artemis II launched at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission used NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for a crewed flight around the Moon and back.

The spacecraft traveled 694,481 miles during the mission and splashed down on April 10, 2026, off the coast of San Diego. NASA reported that Orion landed 2.9 miles from its target and that its entry velocity was within 1 mph of predictions.

The crew reached 252,756 miles from Earth, setting a new human distance record and surpassing Apollo 13's mark. That is the point where Artemis II stopped being only a test flight and became a symbolic reset of crewed deep-space exploration.

Artemis II crew

The Artemis II crew was commanded by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, with NASA astronaut Victor Glover as pilot. NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen served as mission specialists.

The mission mattered because this was not only a symbolic lunar flyby. NASA used Artemis II to test Orion systems, launch operations, crew operations, recovery processes, and deep-space performance before Artemis III and later lunar surface missions.

Artemis II timeline

Launch

Artemis II lifted off on April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, sending Orion and its crew into space aboard the SLS rocket. NASA described Artemis II as the first crewed launch of its SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft together.

Earth orbit and system checks

After launch, Orion performed early mission operations designed to prove that the spacecraft, crew systems, and flight hardware could support humans beyond low Earth orbit. NASA's initial assessment said SLS performed well, met its objectives, and accurately placed Orion after core stage engine cutoff.

Translunar journey

Artemis II then moved into the deep-space phase of the mission. NASA's milestone recap describes a translunar injection burn on April 2, Earth views with auroras and zodiacal light, and a direct space-to-space call with the International Space Station during the mission.

Lunar flyby

The crew flew around the Moon and performed lunar observations during the mission. NASA described lunar flyby activities on April 6, including closest approach, communications loss behind the Moon, communications reacquisition, and lunar observations.

Return to Earth

The return sequence brought Orion back through Earth's atmosphere at extreme speed before parachute deployment and splashdown. NASA described crew module separation, atmospheric interface at about 400,000 feet, drogue parachute deployment, main parachute deployment, and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Splashdown and recovery

Artemis II splashed down on April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. NASA reported that Navy divers retrieved the crew to the USS John P. Murtha and that the spacecraft was recovered to Naval Base San Diego.

What the Artemis II tracker showed

The most useful part of AROW was not just seeing a dot move through space. It was seeing Orion's position in relation to Earth and the Moon, watching the mission path unfold, and understanding the spacecraft's distance, duration, and trajectory in real time.

NASA said the public could use AROW online to follow Orion's path during the mission and see the spacecraft in relation to Earth, the Moon, and Apollo landing sites. NASA also made mobile app tracking available after Orion separated from the rocket's upper stage, approximately three hours into the mission.

For casual viewers, that made Artemis II easier to follow. For serious space watchers, it created a bridge between official mission operations and public understanding.

Why Artemis II mattered

Artemis II was a test of the system that NASA wants to use for the next era of lunar exploration. NASA said the mission assessed key systems and subsystems on Orion, SLS, and launch pad systems, while laying groundwork for Artemis III, lunar surface missions, a Moon base, and future Mars missions.

NASA's early post-mission assessment said Orion's thermal protection system performed as expected and that heat shield char loss was significantly reduced compared with Artemis I. The same assessment said the SLS rocket performed well and that ground systems at Kennedy saw minimal damage after improvements made from Artemis I lessons.

There was also at least one issue under review. NASA said it was investigating a urine vent line problem to determine the root cause and corrective action for Artemis III.

That is how deep-space progress usually looks. Not perfect. Not cinematic all the way through. A successful mission, followed by a forensic review of every system that will matter when humans go farther.

Artemis II vs Apollo

Apollo was the program that first landed humans on the Moon. Artemis is the program designed to return humans to lunar space and build a more sustained path beyond it.

The difference is not only technology. Artemis II tested a new generation of spacecraft, launch systems, data flows, recovery processes, and crew procedures for missions that are meant to extend beyond single historical moments.

NASA said Artemis II supports the path toward Artemis III in 2027, subsequent Moon surface missions from 2028, a Moon base, and future Mars missions. That is the larger reason to track Artemis II even after splashdown: it was a bridge mission.

How to follow future Artemis missions

For official mission tracking, start with NASA's Artemis pages, AROW, NASA+, the NASA app, and NASA's live programming platforms. For context, schedules, reminders, mission explainers, and space news in one place, use CosmoHub as your personal mission control layer.

Create a CosmoHub account to save mission alerts, follow upcoming space launches, and keep track of the space events that matter to you. Use the Space Academy to learn how lunar missions work, check space weather updates, and browse the astronomy picture of the day.