NASA’s Artemis II will launch no earlier than 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1, sending astronauts around the moon on a 10-day mission — the first since 1972.
NASA ’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical on mobile launcher 1 at Launch Complex 39B at NASA ’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA , and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA , around the Moon and back to Earth .
The launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT and runs for two hours, with backup opportunities through April 6:8:53 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 4 to 00:53 a.m. EDT on Sunday, April 5.10:36 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 6 to 2:36 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 7.NASA will hold a prelaunch news conference on Tuesday, March 31, to reveal the countdown status. Live coverage of launch day begins at 12:50 p.m. EDT, several hours before liftoff, giving viewers a front-row seat to final preparations.Following liftoff, coverage will include the deployment of Orion’s solar arrays and its journey into high Earth orbit. After two orbits of Earth, Orion will move into a highly elliptical orbit, with translunar insertion sending it to the moon. A post-launch news conference is expected roughly two-and-a-half hours after launch, as the SLS rocket’s upper stage performs a burn to send Orion and its crew to high Earth orbit.throughout the mission on YouTube, possibly including a live stream of views from the Orion spacecraft, as well as live conversations with the crew.The Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project will try to observe and share in real-time the Artemis II spacecraft once in space, four hours after launch. At 02:45 UTC on April 2 , astronomers using a large telescope will try to track it from Italy during a Meanwhile, smart telescope-maker Unistellar is encouraging its 25,000 customers to observe the sky and look out for the Artemis II rocket approaching the moon — and image its silhouette crossing the moon for a few seconds. “As Artemis II approaches the moon, this event offers a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of the mission and its trajectory,” said Franck Marchis, co-founder of Unistellar and SETI astronomer, in a press release. “By capturing this moment, amateur astronomers can play a meaningful role by contributing observations that help refine tracking, improve mission analysis, and strengthen collaboration between the public and the scientific community.” Unistellar has set up a dedicatedTheir journey will mark several historic milestones, including the first time a woman, a Black man and a non-American astronaut travel beyond low-Earth orbit toward the moon. Over approximately 10 days, the crew will test critical systems aboard the Orion spacecraft, including life-support technology designed for deep-space missions.NASA’s Artemis program is designed as a step-by-step return to the moon, ultimately culminating in a permanent moonbase: Artemis I – Uncrewed test flight that successfully orbited the moon and returned to Earth Artemis III – Planned mission to test systems ahead of a lunar landing Artemis IV – Expected to deliver astronauts to the moon’s surface, targeting the south pole Artemis II is only the beginning of a broader vision. NASA ultimately aims to establish a sustained human presence on the moon, including a potential lunar base near the south pole where water ice could support long-term exploration.— SR-1 Freedom — which is targeted for launch to Mars in 2028. Using nuclear electric propulsion, the mission could dramatically shorten travel times and carry heavier scientific payloads, while deploying advanced robotic helicopters to scout the Martian surface.
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