CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — NASA is targeting the first six days of April 2026 for the launch of Artemis II, marking the first crewed mission to the moon in more than half a century. Four astronauts are scheduled to fly around the moon in an out-and-back slingshot trajectory without landing.

The Artemis II crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. The crew was selected in April 2023 and includes three space station veterans and one astronaut flying beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time.

The astronauts flew from Houston to Kennedy Space Center aboard T-38 jets, landing around 2:10 p.m. ET on March 27, 2026. The crew entered medical quarantine ahead of the launch.

The launch countdown is scheduled to begin at 4:44 p.m. ET on Monday and last 49 hours and 40 minutes, targeting a 6:24 p.m. ET Wednesday liftoff. Weather forecasters predict an 80% chance of acceptable conditions at the planned launch time.

The mission is designed to test the Orion crew capsule's propulsion, navigation, communications, and life support systems in crewed flight. Artemis II will orbit Earth for a day to test spacecraft systems before igniting its main engine to head for the moon.

The spacecraft will take three to four days to reach the moon and travel about 5,000 miles beyond it, exceeding the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Artemis II will fly a free-return trajectory similar to Apollo 13, looping around the moon and returning to Earth using minimal fuel.

"It's extraordinary as a human being to go to the far side of the moon and look back and see the Earth from the perspective of the moon. Whatever that looks like, and whatever that feels like, that is an extraordinary opportunity that I'm very grateful for," said Jeremy Hansen, astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency.

"How do we feel as the people that can call the moon (a) destination, not just something we're looking at? It is our strong hope that this mission is the start of an era where everyone, every person on Earth, can look at the moon and think of it as also a destination," said Christina Koch, NASA astronaut.

NASA's Space Launch System rocket stands 322 feet tall with four main engines and two strap-on boosters and has had one uncrewed test flight more than three years ago. Hydrogen fuel leaks delayed the Space Launch System debut in 2022 and recurred during a February countdown test, stalling the Artemis II launch.

The launch window for Artemis II extends until April 6, after which a delay of about four weeks would be required. Upon completion of the nine-day voyage, the Artemis II astronauts will parachute into the Pacific Ocean upon reentry, as Apollo crews did.