Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are making final preparations toward beginning launch countdown activities for the Artemis II mission, set to launch as early as tomorrow (1 April 2026).
The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80% chance of favourable weather conditions with primary concerns being cloud coverage and the potential for high winds in the area.
NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Friday 17 March 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s 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 (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning in April 2026.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA’s newest spacecraft Orion is developed to be capable of sending astronauts to the Moon and is a crucial step toward eventually sending crews on to Mars.
The Orion spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry and sustain the crew on Artemis missions to the Moon and return them safely to Earth.
Orion will launch on NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the SLS (Space Launch System).
You’ll be able to watch the launch live on NASA+.
Featured picture: Artemis II crew members (from left) CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman walk out of Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Artemis crew transportation vehicles prior to traveling to Launch Pad 39B as part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 20 September 2023, to test the crew timeline for launch day.
NASA/Kim Shiflett