A side view shows NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft on mobile launcher 1 at Launch Complex 39-B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, Jan. 17, 2026. (Photo via Brandon Hancock/NASA/TNS)
March 15, 2026 04:03 AM GMT+03:00
NASA is now aiming for an early April launch of Artemis II, the mission set to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, after work on a helium leak pushed the schedule back from March.
According to media reports cited by the agency, the problem was found in the rocket and led engineers to move it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for repairs. NASA officials said the issue has since been fixed, and the rocket is due to roll back out to the launchpad on March 19.
The earliest launch opportunity has been set for April 1, although NASA said final preparations will continue before the schedule is confirmed.
Lunar return mission takes shape after a delay
Artemis II will carry four astronauts aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew includes three Americans, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
During the 10-day mission, the crew is expected to fly around the far side of the Moon and then head back to Earth. The flight would mark the first time astronauts have traveled around the Moon since the Apollo era more than five decades ago.
NASA keeps focus on risk as launch planning moves forward
As the mission moves closer, NASA officials said risk management remains central to the final countdown. John Honeycutt, chair of the Artemis II Mission Management Team, said the agency wanted to be sure it was thinking through everything that could possibly go wrong.
He also said the historical record for newly built rockets showed that only one out of two succeeds over time, underlining why NASA is taking a careful approach as it wraps up preparations.
No repeat of major pre-launch test
NASA officials also said the agency will not carry out another wet dress rehearsal before liftoff. A wet dress rehearsal is a full pre-launch test in which a rocket is fueled, and teams run through the countdown sequence without actually launching.
Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said there was not much more to gain from repeating that test and added that both she and the agency were comfortable with April 1 as the first launch opportunity.
NASA said work will continue in the coming days before it signs off on the final launch schedule.
March 15, 2026 04:03 AM GMT+03:00