Around the Moon and Back in 10 Days

NASA is sending four astronauts — three from the United States and one from Canada — on a trip around the moon and back without landing there. This is the first time that anyone would travel this far from Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972. The flight launched at 6:35 p.m. Eastern time on April 1.

If Artemis II succeeds, missions that return astronauts to the moon's surface could follow later in the decade.

Here's what to know about the mission, and the astronauts making the trip.