It's D-Day for NASA. On April 1, 2026, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Orion capsule and its four astronauts for the Artemis II mission—the first crewed flight to the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972, over 53 years ago.
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), and Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), along with Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover will be the first African-American astronaut to travel to the Moon, and Christina Koch the first woman to make this journey.
The Artemis II mission is a ten-day lunar flyby on a free-return trajectory. The Orion capsule will approach the Moon without entering orbit or landing, before returning to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. This is the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft and the second flight of the SLS launcher after Artemis I (an uncrewed mission in 2022).
The countdown began the day before. During the press conference on March 31, 2026, Test Director Jeff Spaulding and Meteorologist Mark Burger confirmed that weather conditions were favorable for the launch. The four astronauts were in quarantine in Houston before heading to Kennedy Space Center.
Artemis II paves the way for Artemis III, which plans for astronauts to return to the lunar surface with the goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon. The Artemis program aims to build a permanent lunar base—the Gateway orbital station—and prepare for future missions to Mars.
The launch is scheduled for the evening (local time). In case of a postponement, additional launch windows are available until April 30, 2026, according to the mission availability document published by NASA on March 12, 2026.
