Artemis II cleared for April launch
NASA's Artemis II human lunar mission cleared final pre‑launch reviews and is on track to roll to the pad next week with a possible launch window as early as April 1, officials reported. The crewed mission — three U.S. astronauts and one Canadian — would be the first human trip around the Moon in over 50 years, marking a major milestone for family science education and STEM outreach.
NASA published a mission-availability calendar showing launch opportunities on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. ET and additional windows across April 1–6, with a later opportunity opening April 30 if the early‑April dates are [missed nasa.gov]. Technicians traced the recent upper‑stage anomaly to a dislodged seal in a helium quick‑disconnect and replaced that seal before retesting helium flow inside the Vehicle Assembly [Building nasa.gov]. Engineers also addressed hydrogen leakage discovered during a wet‑dress rehearsal on Feb. 3 by replacing two seals and a clogged filter at the ground‑support interfaces prior to subsequent fueling [tests nasa.gov]. The four‑person crew is commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch (all NASA) plus Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, and the astronauts have named their Orion capsule [“Integrity.” nasa.gov] NASA lists the flight profile as about a 10‑day free‑return lunar loop to validate Orion and other deep‑space systems during this crewed test flight. [nasa.gov] NASA officials said they will forgo another wet‑dress rehearsal before proceeding with pad operations and that senior managers discussed risk posture and remaining VAB close‑out work during the post‑review briefing led by Lori Glaze on March 12. [abcnews.com]
