If you have been wondering how to tune in to the Orion live stream, you are in the right place. NASA’s Artemis II mission launched on 1 April 2026, sending four astronauts on a historic ten-day journey around the Moon. The Orion spacecraft is currently in transit, and live footage and mission tracking are available around the clock for anyone who wants to follow along.
What Is the Orion Live Stream?
The Orion live stream refers to the real-time video feed from NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which is carrying the Artemis II crew on their lunar flyby mission. NASA is broadcasting live views from the spacecraft — including stunning footage of Earth and the Moon — available 24/7 via NASA’s official YouTube channel, the NASA+ streaming platform, and the agency’s website at nasa.gov.
There are two main streaming options. The first is the official NASA live broadcast, which includes commentary from NASA presenters and periodic updates from Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The second is a raw feed directly from the Orion spacecraft itself, showing live views of Earth and the Moon without narration — available as bandwidth allows during the mission.
The Artemis II Crew
The four astronauts making this historic journey are:
- Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA) — a US Navy pilot and veteran ISS astronaut
- Pilot Victor Glover (NASA) — the first Black astronaut to be part of a long-duration ISS mission
- Mission Specialist Christina Koch (NASA) — the first woman on a lunar mission trajectory
- Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (CSA) — a Canadian astronaut making his first spaceflight, and the first Canadian to go beyond Earth orbit
This is the first time humans have travelled beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 — over 50 years ago. The milestone has captured global attention, and the live stream is drawing huge audiences worldwide.
How to Watch from the UK
UK viewers can access the Orion live stream through several routes. NASA’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/NASA) is the simplest option and requires no account or subscription. The NASA+ platform is also free to access via browser or app on iOS and Android devices. All times referenced during the mission are in Eastern Time (ET); the UK is currently five hours ahead, so midnight ET is 5am BST.
The Artemis Real-time Orbit Website, known as AROW, is another excellent way to follow the mission. This tool uses real-time data transmitted from the Orion spacecraft to generate an animated 3D visualisation of the mission, showing the spacecraft’s position, speed, distance from Earth, and distance from the Moon at any given moment. You can access AROW directly at artemistracker.com.
Key Mission Milestones Still to Come
Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B on 1 April 2026. In the days since, the crew has successfully completed several critical early milestones, including the translunar injection burn — the engine firing that sent them beyond Earth orbit and onto a trajectory toward the Moon. This was the first time astronauts had performed that manoeuvre since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The crew is expected to complete a close flyby of the Moon, giving them the closest human view of the lunar surface in more than half a century. The mission is scheduled to conclude with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean around 10 April 2026. NASA will broadcast the splashdown live, and it promises to be a dramatic finale to one of the most significant space missions in modern history.
Why Artemis II Matters
Artemis II is not just a test flight — it is the critical bridge between the uncrewed Artemis I mission of 2022 and the ambitious Artemis III mission, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the surface of the Moon. Artemis II tests the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems with crew aboard for the first time, validates the mission profile for deep space transit, and demonstrates that NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule are ready for lunar landing missions.
For the UK, there is particular interest in the mission because British-built components are part of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module, supplied by Airbus on behalf of the European Space Agency. The UK space sector has a direct stake in the success of Artemis, making the live stream all the more compelling viewing for British space enthusiasts.
Whether you catch a few minutes during your lunch break or stay up late to watch a major milestone, the Orion live stream is one of the most remarkable pieces of real-time content available right now. History is being made — and you can watch it happen.