First crewed Moon mission in over 50 years: Nasa announces Artemis II launch ‘as early as April 1’

NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket with the Orion spacecraft slowly rolls back towards the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Nasa on Thursday unveiled an updated launch schedule for its Artemis II mission, saying the agency is “on track” for a lift-off as early as April 1.“We are on track for a launch as early as April 1, and we are working toward that date. It’s a test flight, and it is not without risk, but our team and our hardware are ready,” AFP quoted senior Nasa official Lori Glaze as saying during a news conference.Glaze added that there could be up to four launch opportunities within a six-day period, with the first launch window opening at 6:24 pm (10:24 pm GMT) on April 1.Artemis II — the first crewed flyby mission to the Moon in more than 50 years — was originally scheduled to launch in February. However, the US space agency later revised the timeline, announcing a change in the schedule that included adding a test mission ahead of a future lunar landing — the mission Glaze was referring to.The initial delay was attributed to “technical difficulties.”Artemis II will carry a crew of four astronauts: three Americans — mission commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch — and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.Nasa diagrams show that following its launch, Artemis II would first orbit Earth before departing for a lunar flyby, circling the Moon without landing, and then returning to Earth for a splashdown in the ocean.While the first Artemis mission passed roughly 80 miles above the Moon’s surface, Nasa says the second one would still approach “tens of thousands of miles closer than any human has been in more than 50 years.”Artemis II will be followed by Artemis III, which aims for a “rendezvous in low-Earth orbit” with at least one lunar lander. The program’s fourth phase targets a lunar landing in early 2028, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s vision of “returning Americans to the Moon,” which he laid out in his first term.