NASA targets March 6 launch for Artemis II mission: After 52 years, NASA to send humans around the Moon

NASA is targeting March 6 for the launch of Artemis II, a historic mission that will send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

According to NASA officials, the earliest launch opportunity is March 6. The date follows a successful “wet dress rehearsal” at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where engineers fuelled the rocket and ran a full countdown test without liftoff.

If successful, Artemis II will mark humanity’s furthest crewed journey into space since the Apollo era.

What is Artemis II and why it matters

Artemis II is the second mission under NASA’s Artemis programme. It will carry four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the far side of the Moon and back to Earth.

The crew includes three Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and one Canadian, Jeremy Hansen.

The last time humans travelled to the Moon was in 1972 during Apollo 17. Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface but will pave the way for Artemis III, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028, according to NASA’s current timeline.

Rocket, spacecraft and mission plan

The astronauts will launch aboard NASA’s 98-metre-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The SLS has flown only once before, in November 2022, during the uncrewed Artemis I mission.

At the top of the rocket sits the Orion spacecraft. The capsule, roughly the size of a minibus inside, will serve as the crew’s home for the 10-day mission.

The mission plan includes:

One day in orbit around Earth

Around four days travelling to the Moon

Flying 6,500 to 9,500 km above the lunar surface

Passing around the Moon’s far side

Four days returning to Earth

Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

NASA officials said the astronauts will spend several hours observing and photographing the Moon’s surface during the flyby.

Wet dress rehearsal clears key hurdle

NASA confirmed that the latest wet dress rehearsal was completed successfully after an earlier attempt in February was stopped due to a liquid hydrogen leak.

Officials said seals and filters linked to the fuel system were replaced and tested. According to NASA’s Lori Glaze, engineers were able to fully fuel the SLS rocket within the planned timeline and complete the countdown sequence.

The successful test allowed NASA to set March 6 as the earliest launch window.

Artemis III, SpaceX and global competition

If Artemis II is successful, Artemis III will attempt to land astronauts near the Moon’s south pole. NASA has contracted SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, to build the lunar lander using its Starship rocket system.

However, delays in Starship development have prompted NASA to request updated plans from SpaceX. The agency has also asked Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, to accelerate its own lunar lander plans.

The US faces competition from China, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. Both countries are targeting the Moon’s south pole due to the presence of water ice and scientific interest.