Artemis II Moon Mission Launch: When, where and how to watch live in India

NASA is all set to launch the Artemis II moon mission soon, the space exploration odyssey holds much significance since scientists are heading back to the Moon after decades of wait. The space agency is in the final stretch of preparing for the Artemis II mission. The space exploration project is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 pm EDT from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

What is the Artemis II moon mission

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed test flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft, which is the most capable human spaceflight system ever built. The mission is scheduled to send four astronauts on a loop around the Moon before returning safely to Earth. The crew will not land on the Moon this time, and the mission is essentially to rehearse and check whether all the systems are working safely with real astronauts on board before NASA attempts an actual lunar landing under the upcoming Artemis III mission later this decade.

Four astronauts will make this journey. Koch will become the first woman to travel to lunar distance, while Hansen, a Canadian astronaut, will be the first non-American to fly on a Moon mission.

How and where to watch the Artemis II moon mission live

NASA will broadcast full live coverage through NASA’s official YouTube channel and the NASA+ streaming platform. Coverage will start well before the final countdown and the launch itself. For viewers joining in from India, the live streaming will start at around 3:50 am IST on April 2. NASA is looking to build a permanent human presence on the Moon, particularly near its south pole, a region believed to hold deposits of frozen water that could one day sustain lunar bases.

Once Artemis II successfully returns after completing its lunar flyby and the crew returns home safely, NASA will begin preparations for Artemis III to put astronauts back on the Moon’s surface for the first time since 1972. That mission, targeted for later this decade, aims to land at the lunar south pole.