Artemis II is no longer waiting on a rollout decision. NASA launched the first crewed Artemis mission on April 1, 2026, sent Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen around the Moon, and recovered Orion off San Diego on April 10 after a 694,481-mile journey. The pre-launch harness repair and countdown drama now matter for a different reason: they set up a flight that gave NASA its first crewed deep-space data for Orion, SLS, Exploration Ground Systems, recovery teams, and the Artemis III campaign. It will be the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972 . More than 50 years. The Orion capsule they named Integrity will carry them out to the Moon's vicinity and back, testing every deep-space system that Artemis III's Moon landing crew will depend on. If everything goes right, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will splash down in the Pacific off San Diego about ten days after launch. AI-generated image The Artemis II crew heads to the pad. From left: Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch. April 1, 2026 First Launch Window 10 Days Mission Duration 5,000 mi Beyond the Moon 130+ Simulations Completed One More Hurdle: The Harness That Delayed the Rollout Getting to the Flight Readiness Review took longer than anyone wanted, and the days after it brought one more snag. On March 16, NASA announced it had identified an electrical harness on the flight termination system of the SLS core stage that required replacement. The FTS is the safety system that would destroy the vehicle in the event of an off-trajectory flight, and any issue there demands immediate attention before the rocket leaves the building. The agency pushed the rollout to no earlier than March 20 to give engineers time to work. Teams moved faster than the schedule required. By March 17, close-out work was ahead of pace, and NASA announced on March 18 that a return to the original March 19 rollout was back on the table. The final call on the exact start time is pending as of today. Whether the crawler-transporter begins the 4-mile trip to Pad 39B on Thursday or Friday, the move does not affect the April 1 launch opportunity. The FTS harness issue followed a longer list of repairs that had accumulated since the vehicle rolled back to the VAB in late February. A dislodged seal in the helium Quick Disconnect on the upper stage had been the primary driver of that rollback. Engineers also replaced the flight termination system batteries and ran the vehicle through additional functional checks before the FRR. By March 12, those issues were behind them. Lori Glaze, acting ESDMD Associate Administrator, led the FRR briefing. John Honeycutt, Mission Management Team Chair, put the result in blunt terms: "A clean FRR is not the time to celebrate. That will be when the astronauts are home safely." Norm Knight, Flight Operations Director, was equally direct about the crew's readiness: "The astronauts are 100 percent ready." The mission team completed more than 130 simulations in the run-up to the FRR, running through every contingency the crew might face. The Crew Closeout Team finished a 2-hour-40-minute rehearsal. The astronauts entered quarantine on March 18. They arrive at Kennedy Space Center on March 27, four days before the SLS ignites. Status as of March 18, 2026 NASA replaced an FTS electrical harness that briefly pushed the rollout from March 19 to NET March 20. Teams finished ahead of schedule. A final decision on the rollout start time is expected today. Either date preserves the April 1 launch window. The crew entered quarantine this morning. The Crew That Will Fly Reid Wiseman commands the mission. A Navy test pilot and former ISS astronaut, Wiseman has logged time in orbit before, but nothing like what Artemis II will ask of him. He will be responsible for the vehicle and crew through the lunar flyby and back. Victor Glover flies as Pilot. Glover, also a Navy test pilot, spent six months on the International Space Station before this assignment. On Day 1 of the mission he will conduct a proximity operations demonstration with the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, the upper stage that delivers Orion into its translunar trajectory. Christina Koch serves as Mission Specialist 1. Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, having spent 328 days on the ISS. Her deep-space systems expertise made her an obvious choice for a mission where life support and crew health monitoring are among the primary test objectives. Jeremy Hansen is Mission Specialist 2, representing the Canadian Space Agency. A CF-18 fighter pilot and astronaut since 2009, Hansen has never flown in space. Artemis II will be his first mission, and it will take him farther from Earth than any Canadian has ever been. Historic Firsts on This Crew Victor Glover becomes the first person of color to travel to the vicinity of the Moon. Christina Koch becomes the first woman to travel to the vicinity of the Moon. Jeremy Hansen becomes the first non-U.S. astronaut to travel to the lunar vicinity, representing Canada and the CSA. Ten Days, 238,000 Miles, and Back The Artemis II trajectory is a hybrid free-return lunar flyby , a figure-8 path that uses the Moon's gravity to sling Orion back toward Earth without needing a dedicated engine burn for the return. It is inherently safe by design: if the propulsion system fails at the wrong moment, the physics of the trajectory still bring the crew home. At its farthest point, Integrity will reach approximately 5,000 miles beyond the Moon , surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13. The closest approach to the lunar surface will be about 4,047 miles (6,513 km) above the far side during the flyby pass. During that pass, the crew will lose contact with Earth for roughly 45 minutes as the Moon blocks all radio signals. When they come back around, they will be headed home. AI-generated image The Artemis II hybrid free-return trajectory traces a figure-8 path from Earth, around the Moon, and back. The mission will reach the farthest distance from Earth any humans have ever traveled. Reentry will test the Orion heat shield under conditions no human-rated capsule has faced since Apollo. The vehicle hits the atmosphere at approximately 25,000 mph , generating temperatures around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the heat shield surface. The reentry angle was adjusted based on unexpected charring observed on the Artemis I heat shield, and NASA has confirmed the steeper descent profile is safe. Splashdown is planned in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Date Milestone Details March 18 Crew Quarantine Begins Crew enters pre-launch quarantine protocol March 19–20 SLS Rollout (NET) Stack rolls from VAB to Launch Complex 39B; final date TBD March 18 March 27 Crew Arrives KSC Astronauts travel to Kennedy Space Center April 1 First Launch Window 6:24 p.m. EDT; 120-minute window April 2–6 Backup Windows April 2: 7:22 p.m.; April 3: 8:00 p.m.; April 4: 8:53 p.m.; April 5: 9:40 p.m.; April 6: 10:36 p.m. (all EDT) April 30 Final Backup Window 6:06 p.m. EDT if earlier windows are missed Day 1 ICPS Proximity Ops Glover demonstrates proximity operations with upper stage Mid-mission Lunar Flyby Closest approach 4,047 mi above far side; 45-min comms blackout ~Day 10 Splashdown Pacific Ocean off San Diego at ~25,000 mph reentry; Navy recovery What This Flight Actually Tests Artemis II is not a joyride. Every hour of the 10-day mission is structured around validating systems that have never carried humans beyond low Earth orbit. Some of these systems flew on Artemis I's uncrewed trip around the Moon, but having a crew aboard changes the stakes and the test conditions in fundamental ways. AI-generated image Inside Orion Integrity (CM-003), the crew will monitor deep-space systems for all 10 days of the mission. • Life support systems: Environmental control, atmospheric pressur