Artemis II, NASA's upcoming crewed lunar flyby mission set for launch around April 2026, hasn't lifted off yet as of early April 2026, so it isn't "going" anywhere at this moment. Recent expert discussions and mission specs highlight the incredible speeds it will reach during flight, making it one of the fastest human spaceflights ever.

Planned Speeds

The spacecraft will hit key velocity milestones on its 10-day journey around the Moon and back:

  • Earth orbit phase : Up to 25,000 km/h (about 15,500 mph) just to circle Earth initially.
  • Escape velocity to Moon : Over 40,000 km/h (roughly 25,000 mph) to break free of Earth's gravity.
  • Reentry into atmosphere : A blistering 40,000 km/h (25,000 mph), the fastest crewed reentry on record, generating extreme heat as Orion skips back home.

These figures come straight from astrophysicists like Dr. Brad Tucker, who noted the g-forces make it "hard to breathe" at peak.

Mission Context

Artemis II builds on uncrewed tests, carrying four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (NASA), and Jeremy Hansen (CSA)—farther than any humans since Apollo. The SLS rocket rolls out slowly at 1 mph to the pad, but once ignited, its 8.8 million pounds of thrust blasts past the sound barrier in under a minute.

Phase| Speed| Why It Matters
---|---|---
Launch to Orbit| ~25,000 km/h 1| Establishes stable path
Lunar Escape| >40,000 km/h 1| Breaks Earth's pull
Reentry| 40,000 km/h 7| Hottest, fastest crewed descent ever

Trending Buzz

Forums and news are hyped: Wikipedia logs it as a record-setter, with reentry topping all prior speeds. Recent rollout coverage (Jan 2026) emphasizes the rocket's crawl to the pad before this speed frenzy. Speculation swirls on exact launch date tweaks, but velocities are locked in per NASA kits.

TL;DR : Not launched yet, but expect 25,000–40,000+ km/h peaks—mind- blowing for the Moon flyby ahead.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.