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Artemis II Cleared for Tonight’s Launch Window to Send Four Astronauts Around the Moon

The flight will validate Orion’s life‑support and deep‑space systems for future lunar landings.

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Photographers set up remote cameras near NASA's Artermis II moon rocket on Launch Pad 39-B just before sunrise at the Kennedy Space Center Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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(L-R) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover look on during a welcome ceremony ahead of the Artemis II April 1 launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026. NASA and Canadian Space Agency astronauts assigned to the Artemis II mission arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026, to begin final pre-launch preparations for the first crewed lunar flyby in the Artemis program. The journey, set to last around 10 days, will take the astronauts on a loop around the Moon, though they will not land on its surface. The crew comprises the first woman, the first person of color and the first non-American to take part in such a journey. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez CARRILLO / AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • NASA’s launch team, which polled go on Monday, is counting down to a two‑hour window opening at 6:24 p.m. EDT Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center.
  • Forecasts from Space Force launch weather officers point to about an 80% chance of acceptable conditions, with backup opportunities available April 2–6 and again on April 30 if needed.
  • The crew is Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, marking firsts for a woman, a Black astronaut, and a non‑American to travel toward the Moon.
  • The roughly 10‑day flyby will not land but will loop around the far side on a free‑return path, sending Orion about 252,000 miles from Earth while the astronauts test life‑support, communications, navigation, and manual controls.
  • The mission follows fixes to a liquid hydrogen leak and a helium flow issue found during prelaunch tests, and managers say the rocket and spacecraft are now ready after final checks and repairs.