Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, senior NASA official Lori Glaze said the agency is working toward the new launch date after the mission, originally planned for February, was postponed.
“We are on track for a launch as early as April 1, and we are working toward that date,” Glaze said, noting that although progress is encouraging, engineers still have work to complete. She described the mission as a crucial test flight that carries inherent risks.
The launch window is expected to open on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. GMT, with several additional opportunities available during the following days.
The mission will carry four astronauts: Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
According to NASA, the spacecraft will first orbit Earth before heading toward the Moon, completing a flyby without landing and then returning to Earth for an ocean splashdown. The distance from the lunar surface will vary depending on the launch date, ranging between roughly 4,000 and 6,000 miles.
While the earlier Artemis I mission passed much closer to the Moon, Artemis II will still take astronauts tens of thousands of miles closer than any humans have traveled since the era of the Apollo program.
NASA plans to follow the mission with Artemis III, which aims to support a future lunar landing as part of the broader Artemis program to return humans to the Moon.
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