The science fiction blockbuster wowed audiences with its depiction of space travel and more. Here's what NASA staff and other scientists say about the basis for the amazing events of the film.

On April 1, 2026, NASA’s Artemis II mission successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Fla., with the intention of tracing the path that the Artemis IV will complete in getting humans to the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972.

Fans across the country tuned in to see the Artemis II crew make their splashy return to Earth.

The astronauts on Artemis II observed parts of the moon humans had never seen before. Their findings provide a scientific baseline — and sense of wonder — for future missions.

The Artemis II crew, led by Reid Wiseman, was the first to lay eyes on several craters on the far side of the moon. The astronauts want to name one of them after Carroll Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020.

The NASA moon mission completed several key milestones as its crew looped around the lunar body. It's expected to splash down on Earth on Friday.

During the mission's loop around the moon, the crew took geological observations of places of interest on the lunar surface using their own eyes and snapping thousands of photos of the surface.

The Artemis II astronauts are on a course back to Earth after flying by the moon Monday, witnessing a solar eclipse, and breaking a distance record set by NASA's Apollo 13 astronauts.

The astronauts on Artemis II will observe parts of the moon rarely seen by human eyes. A NASA planetary scientist said it will offer a vital perspective for lunar research.

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the successful launch of NASA's Artemis II this week. The four astronauts aboard will travel around the moon.

Many of the photos that have come out of the moon mission so far were taken by crew members. NASA says the crew is getting guidance from scientists on what to capture when they get closer to the moon.

With the last major firing of its engine, the Artemis II spacecraft is now on a path that will take it around the moon and back.

NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Wednesday. The mission aims to send four astronauts around the moon on a roughly 10-day journey.

A six-day launch window opens on April 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lunar orbital mission would be the first time humans have returned to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

In shaking up its Artemis lunar program, NASA's new moon plan looks more like the Apollo missions of the 1960s. Instead of landing on the surface on Artemis III, NASA hopes to do so on Artemis IV.