NASA’s first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2026.
The mission, named Artemis II, will send four astronauts on a nearly 10-day journey around the moon and back to Earth.
On the journey to the moon and back, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will fly over the far side of the moon—the side that always faces away from Earth—for a period of three hours.
When will NASA’s Artemis II mission launch?
The Artemis II mission was supposed to launch in early February 2026. However, NASA detected a liquid hydrogen leak during the wet dress rehearsal for the mission, which concluded on February 3, 2026.
The wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test in which the rocket is loaded with cryogenic propellants, a launch countdown is conducted, and the propellants are safely drained without astronauts on board.
NASA concluded a second wet dress rehearsal on February 19, 2026, which was successful. However, on February 21, the agency observed a helium-flow interruption in the upper stage of the Artemis II rocket, prompting a rollback of the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and pushing the mission to April 2026.
If all goes according to plan, the earliest possible launch date would be April 1, 2026, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (22:24 UTC), with a two-hour launch window.
In reality, complex orbital mechanics impose several constraints on launching a spacecraft on a precise trajectory toward the moon. Taking all these constraints into account, mission planners have identified approximately one week of launch opportunities, followed by three weeks without launch opportunities.
The possible launch dates in April 2026 would therefore be April 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 30.
Will Artemis II mission land on the moon?
No, it will be a crewed lunar flyby mission during which four astronauts will pass about 4,000 to 6,000 miles from the lunar surface.
NASA aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole during the Artemis III mission, which is currently scheduled to launch by 2028.
Who will be the Artemis II mission crew?
NASA has selected four astronauts for the Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch (all from NASA), and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman will serve as commander for the Artemis II mission. He earned a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. He served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during Expedition 41 in 2014.
NASA astronaut Victor J. Glover will serve as pilot for the Artemis II mission. He holds a Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering, and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. He served as the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station during Expedition 64.
NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch will serve as a mission specialist for the Artemis II mission. She earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. She served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during Expeditions 59, 60, and 61.
CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen will serve as a mission specialist for the Artemis II mission. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Space Science and a Master of Science in Physics. He was a fighter pilot before joining the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 2009. He became the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class and will become the first Canadian to fly around the moon. Artemis II will be Hansen’s first mission in space.
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