A two-day countdown is underway for NASA's Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch four astronauts on a flight around the moon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is set for a two-hour window opening at 6:24 pm EDT on Wednesday, with backup opportunities through April 6. The crew will test the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day journey, marking humans' first deep space voyage in more than 50 years.
The countdown for Artemis II began Monday evening at Launch Complex 39B. Mission managers reported all systems are ready, with an 80 percent favorable weather forecast for Wednesday despite possible rain showers. John Honeycutt, chair of NASA’s mission management team, told reporters there are “no showstoppers” blocking the launch attempt. Ground teams powered up the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft early Tuesday for final checks, ahead of fueling with liquid hydrogen and oxygen Wednesday morning. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen arrived Friday and will strap into Orion Tuesday afternoon. The 322-foot rocket will generate 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send them skyward. “Things are certainly starting to feel real here at the Cape,” Koch said. Wiseman added, “Hey, let’s go to the Moon! I think the nation and the world has been waiting a long time to do this again.” The crew will fly farther than any humans before, looping beyond the moon's far side before a high-speed Pacific splashdown. After separating from the rocket, they will test Orion’s systems, including manual control, before a translunar injection burn. No landing is planned; that awaits future missions. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently restructured the Artemis program to prioritize a lunar surface base over an orbital station, adjusting Artemis III to a low-Earth orbit test. “Behind this flight stands a campaign, landings, a lunar base,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA associate administrator.
