Artemis II launch live updates: Crew readies for historic moon flyby before returning to Earth

Nypost · Apr 06, 2026 · 176 words · By Kathleen Joyce

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What to know about Artemis II launch live updates: Crew readies for historic moon flyby before returning to Earth

Artemis II launch live updates: Crew readies for historic moon flyby before returning to Earth NASA’s Artemis II will see astronauts orbit the moon in a mission the likes of which have not been seen in more than 50 years.

Claims checked 6

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left25%

Center50%

Right25%

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

What happened

Why it matters

On Thursday, Artemis II officially headed for the moon after firing its thrusters and leaving Earth’s orbit at 7:49 p.m.

Common ground

Reid Wiseman, specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and pilot Victor Glover.

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 launch live updates: Crew readies for historic moon flyby before returning to Earth?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The mission will take four astronauts for a loop around Earth’s moon — including to the dark side?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/06/us-news/artemis-ii-launch-live-updates-moon-flyby/

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 3

info Single Source 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “The mission will take four astronauts for a loop around Earth’s moon — including to the dark side.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found to confirm or refute the claim about Artemis II orbiting the moon's far side.

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Claim 2: “On Thursday, Artemis II officially headed for the moon after firing its thrusters and leaving Earth’s orbit at 7:49 p.m. for its epic four-day journey”

SINGLE SOURCE

No external sources confirm the specific time (7:49 p.m. on Thursday) of Artemis II leaving Earth's orbit. Wikipedia entries do not address this timing detail.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2026 (MMXXVI) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026

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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

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Claim 3: “The crew includes Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and pilot Victor Glover.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found to confirm or refute the specific crew members listed in the claim.

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Claim 4: “NASA’s Artemis II will see astronauts orbit the moon in a mission the likes of which have not been seen in more than 50 years.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Al Jazeera, The Guardian) confirm Artemis II is the first crewed mission beyond low-Earth orbit in over 50 years. Wikipedia's Artemis II page corroborates the mission's historic significance.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that launched on November 16, 2022. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis I marked t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_I

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis II is an ongoing United States spaceflight mission sending four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon. It launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026. The ten-day mission is crewed by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_II

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The Orion capsule lifted off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. after NASA engineers rushed to fix several problems pre-launch.”

SINGLE SOURCE

No external sources confirm the specific launch timeყ (6:35 p.m. on Wednesday) of the Orion capsule. Wikipedia entries do not address this timing detail.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program, in which no cr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation_program

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the ten field centers of NASA. Since 1968, KSC has been NAS…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center

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Claim 6: “On Monday, the crew is flying by the moon before making their way back home to Earth.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found to confirm or refute the claim about the crew flying by the moon on Monday.

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.