NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is gearing up for a historic crewed journey around the Moon, with liftoff now targeted for March 6, 2026. This will mark the first time in over 50 years that astronauts venture beyond low Earth orbit, a milestone not achieved since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
Excitement surrounding Artemis 2 has been palpable, as Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, expressed her enthusiasm during a recent press conference. “Every night, I look up at the moon and I see it, and I get real excited, because I can really feel she’s calling us. And we’re ready,” she stated.
This announcement follows the successful completion of Artemis 2’s wet dress rehearsal (WDR), a critical two-day practice run for launch operations at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the second WDR for Artemis 2, with the first trial cut short earlier this month due to a liquid hydrogen leak during fueling operations.
NASA overcame this challenge by replacing two seals at the interface where the leak occurred and subsequently confirmed the fix during a follow-up confidence test. A total of 730,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants were successfully loaded into the rocket’s tanks without leakage. Artemis 2 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson noted the successful performance of the SLS rocket, stating, “It really performed well.”
As preparations continue, the Artemis 2 team is set to install two “contingency pad access” trusses on the mobile launch tower. This new capability will allow for the testing of the flight termination system without needing to roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, as was necessary during the Artemis 1 mission.
The mission will transport NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day journey to the Moon and back. These astronauts, while not participants in the recent WDR, expressed their excitement and anticipation for the upcoming launch.
As the crew enters quarantine later this week—a standard safety protocol before a mission—they are set to return to Kennedy Space Center for final preparations five days prior to the scheduled launch. With significant progress made and a sense of readiness in the air, Artemis 2 stands as a hopeful step towards deeper space exploration, symbolizing humanity’s enduring quest to return to the Moon and eventually venture to Mars.