Artemis II is in orbit - what happens next?

BBC News · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Apr 02, 2026 · 796 words · By Georgina Rannard

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What to know about Artemis II is in orbit - what happens next?

You could almost hear a sigh of relief from Nasa on Wednesday as its Artemis II rocket finally blasted off.

Claims checked 20

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

You could almost hear a sigh of relief from Nasa on Wednesday as its Artemis II rocket finally blasted off.

Why it matters

There's a lot riding on this mission - the safety of its four astronauts, Nasa's reputation, and the credibility of America's claim to be leading the new global space race.

Common ground

There are mundane questions too: Could the onboard toilet break again?

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Artemis II is in orbit - what happens next??
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that They're testing out the life support systems too. But if something goes wrong, the crew has specially-designed suits that could keep them alive for around six days?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vqre914pzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 20 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

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help Insufficient Evidence 7

verified Verified By Reference 3

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Claim 1: “They're testing out the life support systems too. But if something goes wrong, the crew has specially-designed suits that could keep them alive for around six days.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “Today is building up to the snazzily named "trans-lunar injection" burn. Basically, it is a massive push that will propel them out of Earth's orbit and on course to the Moon.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “Eventually they should fly 6,400 miles (10,299km) beyond the far side of the Moon, which always faces away from the Earth.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were scheduled to exercise later on - using the wheel for rowing, squats and deadlifts.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “They're allowed two drinks a day, including coffee or a "chocolate breakfast drink".”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “The crew must strap themselves into special hanging sleeping bags, and generally some astronauts struggle to nod off as their bodies adapt to weightlessness.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “The craft's solar wings were fully deployed not long after launch, giving it power to help sustain its journey.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Today, the crew are sleeping for about four hours at a time, adding up to eight hours over a 24-hour period.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “The toilet is go for use.... We do recommend letting the system get to operating speed before donating fluid”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “About the size of a minibus, its never been flown in space before by humans so pilot Victor Glover is spending the day pushing it to the extreme.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “The crew were allowed to pick their meals in advance, which include macaroni cheese, beef brisket, and five different hot sauces.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 12: “There is no fridge in Orion, so a lot of the food is freeze-dried and activated using water from an onboard tap.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are now orbiting Earth about 42,500 miles away, testing out the Orion spacecraft.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis II is an ongoing U.S. spaceflight sending four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon and back to Earth. Launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, the ten-day mission is crewed by NA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_II

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis III is planned to be the second crewed mission of the NASA-led Artemis lunar exploration program. The mission's objectives are to conduct tests in low Earth orbit with one or both commercially…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_III

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 through Space Policy Directive 1. By 2028…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program

schedule

Claim 14: “It is supposed to happen Thursday night UK time, but if there are problems, it could be postponed or even cancelled.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 15: “As far as we know, the toilet is working. During launch, the facilities broke, raising worries that the team would have to spend 10 days in a craft without a toilet.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 16: “If it all goes to plan, the burn will fire for six minutes to send them on a trajectory around the Moon that also uses lunar gravity to slingshot them back to Earth.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “That's meant to happen on Monday (6 April). The astronauts will be the first people to see some areas of the far side, although probes from countries including India and China have previously documented this region.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 18: “Artemis II is in orbit - what happens next?”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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verified

Claim 19: “This crew have strict instructions to exercise for 30 minutes every day to protect their muscle and bone density as they live without gravity.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it verified by reference based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dr. Artemis Fowl II is the eponymous character of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his younger brother Donal, who as a child was "a mischievous mastermi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_II

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Claim 20: “We assume they've had their first meals too, from Nasa's tailor-made Artemis II menu.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it insufficient evidence based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.