NASA Targets February 2026 for Artemis II Lunar Mission
NASA plans to launch Artemis II, its first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, as early as February 2026, pending final preparations and system readiness.
NASA is preparing to launch Artemis II, the agency's first crewed mission around the Moon in more than five decades, with a potential launch window opening as early as February 5, 2026. This mission will carry four astronauts: NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen. Glover and Koch are set to become the first person of color and the first woman, respectively, to participate in a lunar mission.
The Artemis II mission follows the uncrewed Artemis I flight, which launched in November 2022. That mission revealed issues with the Orion spacecraft's heat shield, including unexpected charring and loss of material during reentry. NASA has since investigated these anomalies and adjusted the reentry trajectory for Artemis II to ensure crew safety.
"We together have a front row seat to history. We're returning to the moon after over 50 years," said Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for NASA's exploration system development systems directorate, during a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The mission is designed as a 10-day test flight to validate new systems and capabilities, including life support and display systems. Lessons learned from Artemis II will inform the subsequent Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, launch director for Artemis, reported that the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is "pretty much stacked and ready to go," and the Orion crew capsule is undergoing final preparations at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
The Artemis program represents NASA's commitment to establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon, serving as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.
