The Artemis II stack is at the pad and the crew is in place. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 27, swapping their Houston quarantine quarters for the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. As of March 30, NASA reports zero technical issues. The April 1 launch window is intact. Tanking operations begin at 7:45 a.m. EDT on April 1. Launch coverage starts at 12:50 p.m. EDT. Liftoff is targeted for 6:24 p.m. EDT . If the count holds, four astronauts will fly to the Moon's vicinity for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972. AI-generated image Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Credit: NASA / AI illustration T-2 DAYS: STATUS AS OF MARCH 30, 2026 LAUNCH TARGET April 1, 6:24 PM EDT TECHNICAL STATUS GO — zero issues reported CREW At KSC since March 27 WEATHER Actively monitored What Happens on April 1 Launch day begins before sunrise. NASA's tanking team will begin loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the SLS core stage and upper stage starting at 7:45 a.m. EDT — a multi-hour process that fills tanks holding 730,000 gallons of propellant. The crew will suit up in the late afternoon and ride the Crew Access Arm to the Orion capsule, named Integrity , several hours before liftoff. April 1 Schedule (All times EDT) • 7:45 AM: Tanking operations begin — loading cryogenic propellant into SLS • 12:50 PM: NASA live launch coverage begins on NASA+ and YouTube • ~3:00–4:00 PM: Crew suit-up and walkout from Neil Armstrong O&C Building • 6:24 PM: Primary launch window opens • ~8:24 PM: Window closes (approximately 2 hours) Times approximate. NASA will confirm final schedule. Backup windows: April 2–6 and April 30. The March 29 press conference was the final major public status check before launch. NASA managers confirmed all systems remain on track. No new technical anomalies were reported following rollout on March 20. Solar weather monitoring continues, with the Space Weather Prediction Center tracking active regions as the Sun remains near Solar Cycle 25 maximum. How the Stack Got to the Pad This was the second rollout for the Artemis II stack. The first, on January 17, moved the rocket from VAB High Bay 3 to Pad 39B for launch readiness testing. A successful wet dress rehearsal on February 19 cleared a major hurdle. But a helium flow fault in the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage forced a rollback to the VAB on February 25. Teams spent three weeks replacing a battery pack, fixing the helium valve, and swapping a faulty electrical harness on the core stage's flight termination system. The Flight Readiness Review polled GO on March 12. Ground crews recovered time on close-out work. The second rollout began at 12:20 a.m. EDT on March 20, after high winds delayed the planned March 19 start. The stack arrived at LC-39B that morning without issue. AI-generated image Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA / AI illustration By the Numbers • Stack weight: 11 million pounds (mobile launcher included) • Rollout distance: 4.2 miles from VAB to Pad 39B • Crawler speed: approximately 1 mph • Propellant capacity: ~730,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen • Reentry speed: approximately 25,000 mph on Day 10 Four Astronauts, Three Historic Firsts The Artemis II crew entered quarantine on March 18 in Houston. They flew to Kennedy on March 27 and are now in isolation at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building — the same facility where Apollo crews made their final preparations. This is their fourth quarantine period; the previous three each ended when technical delays pushed the launch beyond the isolation window. The mission carries three historic firsts. Victor Glover will be the first person of color to reach deep space and the Moon's vicinity. Christina Koch will be the first woman. Jeremy Hansen , a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel and CSA astronaut, will be the first non-American to reach the Moon's vicinity — part of the arrangement reflecting Canada's contribution to the Lunar Gateway program. Reid Wiseman , the commander, is a Navy test pilot and former ISS expedition commander who was selected to lead Artemis II in 2023. He has framed the mission's importance by pointing to the crews that follow: every human landing requires proving Orion can carry people safely to deep space and back first. CDR Reid Wiseman NASA (USN) PLT Victor Glover NASA (USN) — first person of color to deep space MS1 Christina Koch NASA — first woman to deep space MS2 Jeremy Hansen CSA (RCAF) — first non-American to Moon's vicinity The April Windows The primary window on April 1 opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT. Six daily opportunities run through April 6, with window times shifting later each day as orbital geometry changes. A backup window opens April 30. Each window is constrained by three factors: where the Moon will be when Orion arrives four to five days post-launch, lighting at the Pacific splashdown site for Navy recovery operations, and the free-return trajectory geometry that guarantees a crew return without requiring the main engine. April 2026 Launch Windows — LC-39B • April 1: 6:24 PM EDT (primary target) • April 2: 7:22 PM EDT • April 3: 8:00 PM EDT • April 4: 8:53 PM EDT • April 5: 9:40 PM EDT • April 6: 10:36 PM EDT • Backup: April 30, 6:06 PM EDT Source: NASA Artemis II Mission Availability, updated March 12, 2026. Ten Days to the Moon and Back: The Full Mission Timeline Artemis II is not a landing mission. The comparison to Apollo 8 is the right one: send humans around the Moon, prove the hardware, come home. The planned 10-day mission uses a free-return trajectory that swings approximately 5,000 miles beyond the Moon's far side — farther from Earth than any human has ever been — then uses lunar gravity to redirect Orion back toward Earth. No propulsive burn is needed to come home, which is the key safety design feature. AI-generated image Orion's cockpit carries four crew stations with large touchscreen interfaces. The capsule is named "Integrity." Credit: NASA / AI illustration Day 1 (April 1) — Launch and Earth Orbit SLS lifts off at 6:24 p.m. EDT. About 8 minutes later, Orion separates from the upper stage. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage raises Orion's orbit twice to reach a high-Earth orbit with an apogee near 38,000 nautical miles. The crew runs checkouts: life support (water, air recycling, CO2 removal), cabin configuration, proximity operations demo with the ICPS, and a communication test with the Deep Space Network. The crew rests before translunar injection. Day 2 — Translunar Injection The European Service Module engine fires for several minutes, sending Orion onto the free-return trajectory toward the Moon. This is the moment the mission commits to the lunar path. The crew begins adapting to microgravity; first video downlinks reach Earth. A small trajectory correction maneuver refines the path. Days 3–4 — Outbound Transit Orion coasts toward the Moon. Additional small trajectory corrections dial in the lunar flyby geometry. Crew exercises, medical kit checkouts, and emergency communications tests with the DSN fill the schedule. Spacesuit donning and doffing drills prepare the crew for the flyby. Day 5–6 — Lunar Flyby Orion enters the Moon's gravitational sphere of influence and swings around the lunar far side at closest approach — approximately 4,700 miles above the surface. At that point, Orion is also at its maximum distance from Earth: roughly 248,655 miles, farther than any human has traveled. The crew photographs the Moon's surface in detail. A 30-to-50-minute communications blackout occurs while Orion passes behind the Moon. The lunar gravity slingshot redirects Orion onto its return path to Earth. Days 7–9 — Return Transit Orion heads back toward Earth. The crew demonstrates a manual piloting procedure, builds a radiation shelter using crew equipment, and reviews