Artemis II is go for launch.
After issues with the Space Launch System rocket were resolved, NASA teams concluded the long-awaited launch of the Artemis II mission, sending a crew around the moon in mere weeks.
The SLS rocket will roll out of NASA‘s Vehicle Assembly Building and back out to the launch pad no earlier than Friday, March 20. NASA officials repeatedly stated they are focused on launching in April.
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Pending no more delays or issues, the mission will send four astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket will launch no earlier than Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, propelling the Orion capsule carrying the crew of Artemis 2 toward the moon. As of Tuesday, March 17, the launch date was still Wednesday, April 1.
But if the weather or any other factors were to cause the launch to be delayed, several other days in April remain possibilities under NASA’s timeline. Those dates include April 3-6.
The astronauts won’t be making a lunar landing, but will rather circle the moon on a 10-day trip to test systems and hardware for future expeditions to the surface. The Orion capsule the crew will pilot – built by Lockheed Martin – is due to travel about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon, taking its passengers the farthest humans have ever ventured in space before returning to Earth.
The mission would come more than three years after Artemis 1 launched Nov. 16, 2022, from Kennedy Space Center, sending the Orion capsule on a moon-orbiting mission without a crew in the first test of the vehicle.
Artemis I is the first in a series of complex missions that will enable human exploration of the moon and eventually Mars.
The crew of Artemis 2 includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.
Last week, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed plans to add another mission between Artemis 2 and a moon landing. That mission, now known as Artemis 3, would entail astronauts aboard the Orion capsule meeting and docking in 2027 in Earth orbit with at least one of the commercial lunar landers being developed by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
NASA then plans for a moon landing mission in 2028 as part of Artemis 4. Afterward, moon landings are expected to occur once a year as astronauts work to establish a permanent lunar base ahead of crewed missions to Mars.
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Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: When is Artemis launch in Florida? See pictures of NASA’s moon rocket