Day 2 of NASA's Artemis II: What Comes Next in First Crewed Mission to the Moon in Over 50 Years

NASA's 322-foot-tall Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft lifts off at Kennedy Space Center on April 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

For the first time in 54 years, humanity is headed back to the moon. NASA's Artemis II mission departed Earth on Wednesday in a fully stocked, 332-foot-tall rocket with the Orion spacecraft. The crew is comprised of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. Glover is the first Black person to be sent to the moon, and Hansen is the first Canadian. The four-person crew is planning to orbit the moon in a 10-day mission, setting the stage for future missions to the moon, deep space and Mars.

We'll be keeping up with all the latest Artemis II news, so check back here today and throughout the week for updates. Here's everything you need to know about Day 2 of the mission.

How to watch the Artemis II moon mission

Takeoff took place on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. PT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. While delays are common during launches, especially due to weather, liftoff took place less than 10 minutes after the 2-hour launch window was scheduled to open.

You can watch a replay of the livestream on NASA's YouTube channel, official website and social media accounts. If you're looking for coverage in Spanish, check out NASA's Spanish YouTube channel.

Now that the mission has launched, you'll soon be able to watch a livestream from inside the Orion spacecraft, featuring "live views from Artemis II's Orion spacecraft, without commentary, as it makes its journey around the moon." The stream should launch soon and will end just before the Orion's splashdown into the Pacific Ocean at the conclusion of the mission.

Here's all the ways you can keep up with the Artemis II mission. NASA

What to expect from this mission to the moon

The Artemis II mission is designed to orbit the moon on a 10-day trip. The astronauts won't be touching down on the moon's surface this trip, but they'll be testing the system's life support systems for the first time. Artemis II could be considered this generation's version of Apollo 8. The mission will set the stage for future Artemis missions, including Artemis IV, scheduled for 2028, which is planned to put humans back on the moon.