Artemis 2 (EM-2)

Launch data: Designation  2026-069 Launch date  01 March 2026 - 22:35:12 UTC Launch site  KSC, LC-39B Launch vehicle  SLS Block1 Mission type  Crewed lunar flyby Spacecraft  CM-003 Integrity Orbital parameters:   - Orbit  Selenocentric   - Perigee  192 km   - Apogee  70,174 km   - Inclination  28.5° Moon orbiter:   - Orbiter insertion   2026 - UTC   - Orbiter departure   2026 - UTC Flyby of Moon:   - Closest approch  06 April 2026 - 23:00 UTC   - Distance  6545 km End of mission: Landing date   11.04.2026 - 00:07:27 UTC Recovery by  USS John P. Murtha Landing site  32.3 N, 117.8 W Pacific Ocean off Baja California Mission Duration  9d 01h 32m 15s Distance travelled

Description:

• Artemis II is a planned lunar spaceflight mission under the Artemis program, led by NASA. It is intended to be the second flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), and the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft. It is the first crewed mission around the Moon, and beyond low Earth orbit, since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission will launch no earlier than April 1, 2026.
• The 10-day mission will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth. Glover will become the first person of color, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first person not from the United States to leave Earth orbit and to travel around the Moon. The flight is set to take the crew farther from Earth than any previous crewed mission, before reentering Earth's atmosphere at a record speed of approximately 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h).

Crew

Backup Crew

Description:

• The Artemis II mission plan is to send four astronauts in the first crewed Orion spacecraft into a lunar flyby using the Block 1 variant of the Space Launch System. The mission profile is a multi-trans-lunar injection (MTLI), or multiple departure burns, and includes a free-return trajectory from the Moon. The Orion spacecraft will be sent to a high Earth orbit with a period of roughly 24 hours. During this time the crew will perform various checkouts of the spacecraft's life support systems as well as an in-space rendezvous and proximity operations demonstration using the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a target. When Orion reaches perigee once again, it will fire its main engine to complete the TLI maneuver, which will send it onto a lunar free-return trajectory, before returning to Earth.
• Artemis II is the second scheduled mission of NASA's Artemis program and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft, was planned to launch by the Space Launch System (SLS) in February 2026. The crewed Orion spacecraft will perform a lunar flyby test and return to Earth. Artemis II is planned to be the first crewed spacecraft to travel to the Moon, or beyond low Earth orbit, since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission profile is similar to Apollo 8.
• Orion is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule and the European Service Module (ESM). Capable of supporting a crew of six beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Although compatible with other launch vehicles, Orion is primarily intended to launch atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system.

Official crew portrait, clockwise from left: Koch, Glover, Hansen and Wiseman. Credit: NASA.

Diagram showing the planned objectives of the Artemis II mission. Credit: NASA.

Orion spacecraft Integrity and its European Service Module for the Artemis II mission being prepared in March 2025. Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak.

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, are seen at Launch Pad 39B, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky.

Artemis 2 boardong Pass. Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak.

Artemis-2 launch. Credit: NASA.

Mission details:

• On February 11, 2023, NASA rotated the Artemis II core stage's engine section to a horizontal position, marking the final major milestone before integration with the rest of the vehicle. On March 20, the engine section was mated with the core stage in Building 103 at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. NASA initially expected to deliver the completed core stage to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in summer 2023, but by May, the timeline had shifted to late autumn 2023.
• RS-25 engines (serial numbers E2047, E2059, E2062, and E2063) were installed on the core stage in New Orleans by September 25, 2023. However, after a leak was discovered in its oxygen valve hydraulics, engine E2063 was replaced with E2061 in April 2025. In June 2024, NASA announced that the fully outfitted core stage was scheduled for delivery to KSC in July, which was successfully carried out from the 16th to the 25th. The adapters required for integration of the full launch vehicle also reached substantial completion in June 2024 and arrived at KSC in September 2024.
• NASA had originally targeted September 2024 to begin rocket stacking operations. However, the schedule was delayed by more than two months due to investigations into issues with Orion's life support system and unexpected damage to Orion's heat shield observed after the Artemis I reentry. Rocket stacking finally began on November 20, 2024. Stacking was completed on October 20, 2025, with the installation of the fully integrated Orion, ESM, and launch abort system atop the SLS rocket.
• On January 18, 2026, the integrated SLS rocket, Orion capsule, and launch tower were rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B.
• The earliest launch window for Artemis II was set for early February 2026. The January 2026 North American winter storm delayed preparations for the launch. A wet dress rehearsal of the countdown occurred February 2. Following the test, NASA announced that the launch would be postponed to March 2026 due to a liquid hydrogen leak that occurred during the simulated countdown. In addition to the leak, a valve associated with Orion crew module hatch pressurization required retorquing, and closeout operations took longer than planned. A second wet dress rehearsal occurred on February 19 and was successful.
• On February 21, a helium flow issue was observed, triggering a rollback to the VAB and delaying the mission to April at the earliest. The rollback began on February 25 at 9:38 am EST and arrived at the VAB at approximately 8:00 pm. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has stated that an actual launch date will only be confirmed after a successful wet dress rehearsal is complete and the results are analyzed.] On March 12, after a Flight Readiness Review (FRR), seven two-hour launch windows were announced in April on the 1st through the 6th and the 30th.
• On March 18, NASA announced that the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft would be rolled out the next day to Launch Pad 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Meanwhile, the Artemis II crew entered quarantine in Houston to ensure they remain healthy ahead of the launch. On March 20, after a delay due to high winds, the SLS was rolled out from the VAB to launch pad 39B a second time. The mission launched on April 1, 2026.
• Four astronauts aboard NASA's Artemis II test flight around the Moon made history at 17:56 UTC on April 06, 2026, traveling 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from Earth, surpassing the record for human spaceflight's farthest distance previously set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. At its farthest point, crew inside the Orion spacecraft will have traveled about 252,760 miles (406,777 kilometers) before looping back toward our home planet, setting the new record for human spaceflight.
• The spacecraft landed 75 km southwest of San Diego.
• Recovery ship:
  USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) is the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship of the United States Navy, and is named in honor of Congressman John Murtha (1932-2010) of Pennsylvania. John P. Murtha is homeported at Naval Base San Diego.
• Helicopter:
  Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 (HSC-23), also known as the "Wildcards", are a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. The "Wildcards" currently fly the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and the MQ-8C Firescout

Orion capsule. Credit: NASA.

Orion insite. Credit: NASA.

European Service Module (ESM). Credit: NASA.

Orion capsule. Credit: NASA.

Landing on parachute. Credit: NASA.

Recovery. Credit: NASA.

Recovery cabine. Credit: NASA.

Crew. Credit: NASA.

External links:

• Wikipedia: Artemis 2 mission - Artemis programme - Orion spacecraft

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