On the 1st day of April 2026 the 32 story high rocket Artemis 2 launched. It is the first trip to the moon in 53 (human) years and was no April Fools joke. We have been gathering paws full of information for folks to follow along.
The excitement is intense after a safe launch and this time, with the internet we are all, quite literally, able to follow astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen on their trip.
This is a lunar flyby is not a moon landing because, I am guessing, they have better tech now and want to get every step right.
Here is Toulouse and Jack’s tribute to the amazing astronauts!
Real Life Coverage
Toulouse and I have been watching the NASA YouTube channel which depending on the time of day has ground control talking to the astronauts as they work. (Great to have on in the background).
You can hear the people talking. They are confirming this action, or that experiment, or checking a process. Odd as it seems, the voices of the women seem to be easier to understand than the men’s voices.
How Do We Talk to Artemis?
The BBC, before it took down its live coverage that we can see in NZ, shared a link to the Deep Space Network of radio telescopes. It shows the amazing way Earth stays in touch with the spacecraft, like a relay race.
When you visit the page you see live signals coming and going!
Check your own country and you may still have live ongoing coverage of the spaceflight.
We will be watching as we work here in New Zealand although Toulouse may take longer naps than me! Oh and if you want to download a NASA image of your own, you can do so here.
So interesting, to think that after all these years, after all the deep space exploration, they are now going back to the moon – huh, I wonder why? 🐾🐾🚀
I am guessing that it is a staging post for Mars one day. Easier to set off from outside the Earth’s atmosphere perhaps?
Interesting stuff!
Wait, I was almost 14…LOL!
I still remember the thrill of seeing the first men walking on the moon.I was 12 if I remember correctly. I’ve saved the site(s), to watch if I am in the house.
I pray all will go well…and hooray, there is a Canadian on that spacecraft!! 🇨🇦
I was thrilled to see a Canadian in the crew!
That tribute photo is SO cool!
Very exciting stuff. Happy Easter! XO
We were lucky enough to see it launch from our backyard (well, Mom did).
Oh, how this takes me back to when I was a little girl and lunar rocket launches were A Really Big Deal!
This launch, however, coincided with the Passover seder and I honestly had forgotten all about it till it was over.
Toulouse and Jack’s tribute is beautiful
Oh, how it takes me back to when I was a little girl and rockets taking off for a voyage to the moon was really A Big Deal!
It is another amazing achievement. And landing on the moon when it comes will be great. Hopefully we will see the moment when it comes on Youtube or similar. Maybe Mrs H and I will get to have an adventure in space one day soon. Now theres a thought: Cat detectives in space, the final feline frontier.
ERin