USA Today will begin live streaming the Artemis II moon mission and launch beginning at 9 a.m. April 1. The trajectory for Artemis II will be toward the east after it launches from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral. NASA's graphic shows where where the rocket could be visible at various times after the launch.

NASA says space mission on track for Wednesday launch, aiming to carry a crew to the moon for first time in 5 decades

It may be April Fools’ Day, but NASA is expected to make a historic lunar journey for the first time since the Apollo mission in 1972, launching a crew of four astronauts aboard Artemis II to the moon.

NASA’s new chief is reshaping the space agency’s goals, unveiling at an event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday an ambitious vision that includes revamped plans for a moon base.

The crew will travel more than 252,000 miles from Earth – a distance record for humans – before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home.

During their April 6 flyby, the Artemis 2 moon astronauts will snap an Earthrise photo that could inspire a new generation.

The Artemis II crew is nearing the Moon on a historic flyby mission, sending back new images as NASA moves closer to landing humans there again by 2028.