The NASA on Thursday announced an updated launch schedule for its Artemis II mission, saying the agency is “on track” for a liftoff as early as April 1. Senior NASA official Lori Glaze said the team is preparing for the mission while acknowledging that test flights always involve some risk.
“We are on track for a launch as early as April 1. It’s a test flight and it is not without risk, but our team and hardware are ready,” Glaze said during a news conference.
She added that there could be up to four launch opportunities within six days, with the first launch window opening at 6:24 pm (10:24 pm GMT) on April 1.
Mission delayed due to technical issues
The Artemis II mission, the first crewed flyby of the Moon in more than 50 years, was originally scheduled to launch in February.
However, the US space agency later revised the timeline and added another test mission ahead of a future lunar landing. Officials said the earlier delay was due to technical difficulties.
Four astronauts to travel around the Moon
The mission will carry four astronauts:
- Reid Wiseman (mission commander)
- Victor Glover
- Christina Koch
- Jeremy Hansen
According to NASA’s mission plan, the spacecraft will first orbit Earth after launch. It will then travel toward the Moon, perform a lunar flyby without landing, and return to Earth with a splashdown in the ocean.
Closer approach to the Moon
The first Artemis mission passed about 80 miles above the Moon’s surface. NASA says Artemis II will travel tens of thousands of miles closer than any human has been in more than 50 years.
Future missions aim for Moon landing
The mission will be followed by Artemis III, which aims for a rendezvous in low-Earth orbit with a lunar lander before heading to the Moon. The program’s later phase aims for a human landing on the Moon in early 2028, part of former US President Donald Trump’s vision of returning Americans to the lunar surface first outlined during his first term.
