https://www.npr.org/2026/03/12/nx-s1-5746128/nasa-artemis-ii-april-launch

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NASA sets Artemis II crewed moon mission launch for April 1 A six-day
launch window opens on April 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida. The lunar orbital mission would be the first time humans
have returned to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Space

NASA targets Artemis II crewed moon mission for April 1 launch

March 12, 20265:33 PM ET

By 

Brendan Byrne

NASA employees brief the media on Thursday at the Kennedy Space
Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. about the delayed Artemis II mission.
The news conference focused on revisions and fixes being done to the
rocket components.

NASA employees brief the media on Thursday at the Kennedy Space
Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. about the delayed Artemis II mission.
The news conference focused on revisions and fixes being done to the
rocket components. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images

ORLANDO -- After a critical pre-flight review, NASA is targeting a
launch of Artemis II as early as April 1 to send four astronauts on a
10-day mission around the moon and back.

The mobile launcher containing the Artemis II Space Launch System
rocket and Orion spacecraft arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building
after a rollback that lasted over ten hours at the Kennedy Space
Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 25, 2026. NASA teams
detected issues with the helium flow and removed the rocket from the
launchpad.

Space

NASA redirects Artemis moon mission program, postponing a planned
astronaut landing

The decision Thursday came after an in-depth flight readiness review,
where managers met to discuss the mission. "All the teams polled 'go'
to launch and fly Artemis II around the moon," said Lori Glaze, of
NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

The crew -- NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina
Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen -- were
at the flight readiness review.

NASA had planned to launch the mission earlier this month, but
following a successful fueling test in February, engineers discovered
an issue with the rocket's helium system, which regulates the
pressures in the vehicle's fuel tanks. Mission managers decided to
roll the rocket back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the
Kennedy Space Center for repairs.

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Technicians were able to repair the helium issue by replacing a seal.
With the issue now fixed, ground teams plan to move the rocket back
to its launch pad on Thursday. "Keep in mind we still have work to
go. There are still things that need to be done within the VAB and
out at the pad," said Glaze. "And as always, we'll always be guided
by what the hardware is telling us and we will launch when we are
ready."

Planning for an April 1 launch, the crew will enter quarantine at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 18, and make the trip
to Florida on March 27.

Artemis II has six days at the start of the month to launch: April
1-6. Once the mission does launch, it will mark the first human
mission to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

  * NASA
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