NASA Aims for February 2026 Launch of Artemis II Moon Mission
NASA announced on Tuesday its intention to move the launch of the artemis II mission, designed to orbit the moon with a crew, forward to February 2026 – two months ahead of its previously stated schedule. While prioritizing astronaut safety, the agency is working to accelerate preparations for the landmark flight.
Originally committed to a launch “at most in April 2026,” NASA is now targeting an early February launch window.Lakiesha Hawkins, the interim assistant administrator of exploration systems advancement missions, stated at a press conference that they are striving “to speed up preparations as possible, possibly to early February.” Specifically, February 5, 2026, has been identified as the first potential launch date.
Artemis II will be the first manned flight of the Artemis program, sending four astronauts on a trajectory around the moon before returning to Earth. The mission is crucial for testing and validating the spacecraft’s systems in planning for Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface for the first time in over five decades, currently slated for 2027.
“Everything we learn from Artemis II will inform Artemis III,” Hawkins added.
The ten-day mission will see the Orion capsule orbit Earth once before approaching the moon to a distance of approximately 10,000 kilometers. The launch will originate from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, California.
Throughout the flight, astronauts will participate in a series of experiments designed to study the effects of space travel on human health. One such experiment, “Avatar,” involves a USB-pen-sized chip containing cells grown from the astronauts’ blood, used to analyze the impact of increased radiation and microgravity.
Astronauts will also wear devices similar to fitness trackers to monitor sleep, physical activity, and interactions, providing real-time data on their health. Saliva samples will be collected both before and after the mission for comparative analysis.
NASA initiated the Artemis program with the successful unmanned Artemis I mission in 2022, which tested the Space launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft on a long-duration flight.
