Artemis

Where is Artemis II now? Follow location updates of major NASA mission

USA TODAY

April 3, 2026Updated April 4, 2026, 10:32 a.m. ET

Want the latest on the Artemis II moon mission?

With NASA's flight tracker, you can follow along with the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission as they make their way toward the moon.

After a successful launch from Florida on April 1, the Artemis II mission was more than 70,000 miles away from Earth as of 6 a.m. Friday, April 3.

NASA has a website and an app to help you keep track of everyone during the 10-day mission that's sending astronauts to the far side of the moon and back.

Artemis II tracker. Follow moon mission in real time

A graphic from NASA shows Artemis II's flight path on its way for a lunar flyby.

NASA's online tracker — available both on desktop and as a mobile app — allows you to follow along with the Artemis II astronauts as they venture toward and around the moon aboard an Orion crew capsule.

The tracker, officially referred to as the "Artemis Real-time Orbit Website" (AROW), allows users to not only see where the Orion spacecraft is and how fast it's traveling, but to see in miles its distance from both the Earth and the moon, according to NASA.

In an image posted by NASA on April 3, 2026, One-third of Earth is seen through the Orion capsule window as the NASA Artemis II mission continues towards the moon.
Although Earth only fills a fraction of the image it is the brightest object in the image. The capsule window is surrounded by a thick frame held in place with bolts. It is dark in the capsule, but the outlines of straps and various components of the capsule are visible.

The interface of the desktop website version includes key mission milestones and characteristics about the moon, including information about landing sites during the Apollo era. The mobile version for smartphones included in NASA's app is similar, with the addition of an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones to see where Orion currently is relative to Earth.

Download the app on your smartphone here:

➤ App Store

➤Google Play

The data is collected in real time by sensors on Orion and then sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. That information is being constantly updated throughout the 10-day mission.

Artemis II mission: Where is the Orion capsule now?

Shortly before 6:30 a.m. April 3, astronauts were more than 72,000 miles from Earth.

At 1 day and 11 hours into their 10-day mission, the astronauts are traveling at 4,880 mph and have just over 180,000 miles to go before reaching the moon.

What will Artemis II crew do today, April 3?

According to NASA, on Friday, April 3, the astronauts will:

Practice the procedures they'll carry out as they fly close to the moon on the sixth day of the mission. This includes running through the observations they plan to make of the lunar surface.
The astronauts will also need to get some exercise, using the Flywheel exercise device.
They'll also conduct safety demonstrations, such as CPR and evaluation of the medical kit.
NASA said Mission Specialist Christina Koch will spend the second half of the third day testing Orion’s emergency communications system with the Deep Space Network.

Meet the Artemis II crew

The four crew members of Artemis II arrived March 27 in Florida after entering standard preflight quarantine to avoid illnesses. Here's a look at the team:

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native and the mission's commander who last flew to space in 2014 on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot from Pomona, California, who flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who holds several space agency records and who flew in 2019 on a Soyuz ISS mission.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.

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