NASA plans to attempt the Artemis II launch on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. Eastern Time, as announced during a Thursday briefing. The agency selected this date, coinciding with April Fools' Day, for the mission's upcoming liftoff.
Should the primary slot not work out, a follow-up window is set for April 2 at 7:22 p.m. The space agency also identified multiple additional chances from April 1 through April 6 to send the Orion vehicle skyward. During the media session, NASA's interim associate administrator Lori Glaze explained that daily tries aren't feasible in that timeframe, estimating roughly four viable slots over the six days.
To gear up, the team aims to reposition Artemis II at the Kennedy Space Center's launch site on March 19. Officials cautioned that additional hurdles might arise. Glaze noted confidence in aiming for April 1 as the initial option, while stressing ongoing tasks inside the Vehicle Assembly Building and at the pad, emphasizing decisions based on equipment status and readiness for launch.
This flight marks NASA's return to crewed Moon voyages after more than five decades, following the Apollo era's end in the early 1970s. The 10-day journey will send four crew members on a lunar orbit and safe return to our planet. It represents the debut human flight for the Orion capsule and advances progress toward eventual lunar surface missions.
Originally slated for early February, the schedule shifted to March following complications in a full-scale dress rehearsal with propellants. Just over two weeks afterward, another postponement occurred—prompting removal from the pad—after detecting a helium pathway obstruction in the rocket's uppermost section. These developments unfold amid acting Administrator Jared Isaacman's restructuring of the Artemis initiative, which delays a planned lunar touchdown until 2028.