NASA targets April 1 launch for first crewed moon mission since Apollo

NASA is targeting an April 1 motorboat for its Artemis II ngo astir the moon, marking the archetypal crewed lunar formation since Apollo successful 1972.

Officials said Thursday they completed the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and are acceptable to rotation the rocket backmost to the pad connected March 19, followed by last configuration for launch.

A imaginable motorboat for the 10-day ngo is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET connected April 1, with a backup day of April 2 astatine 7:22 p.m.

"At the decision of the FRR, each the teams polled spell to motorboat and alert Artemis II astir the moon, pending completion of immoderate of the enactment earlier we rotation retired to the motorboat pad," Lori Glaze, acting subordinate head for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said astatine a quality league astatine Kennedy Space Center successful Florida.

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NASA's Artemis II sits successful the Vehicle Assembly Building astatine NASA’s Kennedy Space Center connected Jan. 16, 2026 successful Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"It's a trial formation and it is not without risk, but our squad and our hardware are ready," Glaze added.

Artemis II had been scheduled to motorboat successful aboriginal February, but the ngo was delayed aft substance leaks were discovered during a trial run. A helium leak was aboriginal identified astatine the extremity of the month. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was transferred from the launchpad backmost to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for repairs that are astir complete.

John Honeycutt, seat of the Artemis II Mission Management Team, said the mission’s occurrence likelihood scope from 1 successful 2 to 1 successful 50 erstwhile asked astir the risks of Artemis II.

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The unit of NASA’s Artemis II ngo (left to right): NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. (NASA)

Honeycutt aboriginal said helium does not privation the mission’s occurrence viewed arsenic a 50-50 proposition.

"If you look astatine the information implicit time, implicit the lifespan of gathering caller rockets, right, the information would amusement you that 1 retired of 2 is successful. You’re lone palmy 50% of the time," Honeycutt said. "I deliberation we’re successful a overmuch amended presumption than that."

"I don’t privation radical to instrumentality that arsenic being that we should beryllium frightened to spell fly, due to the fact that we’re not frightened to spell fly," helium added. "We bash an outstanding occupation of knowing the risk, buying down the risk, mitigating the hazard and putting unneurotic controls to negociate the risk."

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Lori Glaze, acting subordinate head for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, and Artemis II Mission Management Team Chair John Honeycutt addressed reporters during a property league astatine Kennedy Space Center. (Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images)

NASA besides said it volition not behaviour different "wet formal rehearsal," a prelaunch fueling trial for Artemis II.

"When we vessel the conveyance the precise adjacent time, I would similar it to beryllium connected a time that we could really launch. I would similar to bash it connected motorboat day," Glaze said. "And if we are capable to successfully afloat vessel the vehicle, I privation to beryllium capable to spell to launch."

She added that NASA does not privation to usage up immoderate days successful its April motorboat model for a bedewed formal rehearsal.

NASA LIKELY TO DELAY ARTEMIS II MOON MISSION LAUNCH AGAIN DUE TO HELIUM FLOW PROBLEM

NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are seen astatine Launch Pad 39B astatine Kennedy Space Center successful Cape Canaveral, Florida, connected February 20, 2026. (Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images)

The Artemis programme was archetypal established by President Donald Trump during his archetypal word successful December 2017.

The 4 astronauts progressive successful Artemis II — Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — are expected to orbit the satellite earlier returning location successful what would beryllium the farthest quality spaceflight ever.

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NASA has said Artemis III, Artemis IV and Artemis V are expected to motorboat earlier the extremity of Trump’s existent term, with Artemis IV and V aiming to instrumentality astronauts to the moon's surface. 

Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.