NASA, on Friday, announced the completion of Flight Readiness Review for Artemis II and has polled the mission ‘go’ for launch. It is now targeting April 1 to launch the crewed Moon mission and the Space Launch System (SLS) roll out to the pad at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for a ‘wet dress rehearsal’ on March 19.
A ‘wet dress rehearsal’ is a pre-flight exercise wherein mission teams fill the rocket’s tanks with propellant and conduct a full launch countdown.
NASA teams have polled ‘go’ to proceed toward Artemis II’s launch around the Moon.
We’re targeting March 19 to roll the rocket out to the launchpad at @NASAKennedy in advance of a launch attempt on April 1, pending completion of work at the pad: https://t.co/B58YibEjYI pic.twitter.com/vSVV6wx5No
— NASA (@NASA) March 12, 2026
“NASA completed the agency’s Artemis II Flight Readiness Review on Thursday, March 12, and polled “go” to proceed toward launch. NASA is targeting Thursday, March 19, to roll the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to launch pad 39B in advance of a launch attempt Wednesday, April 1, pending close out of remaining open work,” NASA said in a statement.
Artemis II will be the first crewed lunar mission since 1972. Four astronauts will fly around the Moon in the Orion spacecraft and return without landing in approximately ten days.
We are absolutely in a race with China to the Moon, and the margin between first and second could be measured in months.
That is why we will be launching Moon rockets more often, strengthening our partnerships with industry, and executing President Trump’s plan to return… pic.twitter.com/66ZqrpVahI
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) March 13, 2026
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced sweeping changes to the Artemis Program last month to develop ‘launch muscle memory’ and ensure the US doesn’t fall behind in the lunar race against China. During an interview with FOX News on Friday, Isaacman stressed that America is “absolutely in a race with China to the Moon.” Notably, China intends to land its own astronauts on the lunar surface before 2030 and is progressing strongly with tests of its rocket and Moon landers.
Artemis II will be followed by Artemis III which has been tweaked into a crew test flight instead of Moon landing mission to test docking technologies in Earth orbit. The Moon landings will take place starting Artemis IV in 2028.
When can NASA launch Artemis II in April?
According to NASA’s calendar, April offers seven potential launch opportunities throughout the month. The agency will have 120-minute launch windows on April 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 30.
On April 1, the launch window will open at 6:24 am EDT [3:54 am IST on April 2]. If all goes well with the dress rehearsal and teams don’t encounter any problem before the flight, Artemis II will finally take off three years after Artemis I which kickstarted the program in November 2022.
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