On Tuesday, September 23, NASA held a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, announcing that the Artemis II mission launch may be moved up 2 months to February 5, 2026, and will not be later than April. This will be NASA’s first manned lunar flyby mission in over 50 years since the launch of Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts into space for approximately a 10-day flyby around the Moon, preparing for future lunar missions. Last year, NASA postponed this mission by a few months to April 2026.
The four astronauts selected by NASA for this mission are Reid Wiseman from the United States as the mission commander, Victor Glover as the pilot, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency as mission specialists. Hansen will be the first Canadian astronaut to enter the vicinity of the Moon.
Commander Reid Wiseman previously traveled to the International Space Station in 2014 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, while Pilot Victor Glover entered space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the ISS. Mission Specialist Christina Koch went to space in 2019 on a Soyuz mission to the ISS, and Jeremy Hansen is embarking on his first space journey.
The launch vehicle for this mission will utilize the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket manufactured by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, along with the Orion spacecraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
During the press conference, NASA officials emphasized that Artemis II is not only a space mission but also a critical step in human deep space exploration. They will test new systems such as life support, display technologies, software, laying the groundwork for future lunar missions. The Artemis III launch plan is set for 2027, using SpaceX’s Starship rocket as the lunar lander.
On Tuesday, NASA’s Acting Associate Administrator for Exploration, Kathy Hawkins, stated, “We intend to keep our promises,” adding that “the launch may be moved up depending on the readiness of NASA’s SLS and Orion spacecraft but ultimately, safety considerations will guide the decision on the launch timing.”
NASA is actively conducting three space weather research missions to monitor solar wind around the clock, evaluate the increasingly active solar activities this year, assess the impact of space weather events on spacecraft and astronaut safety, and prepare for the Artemis program.