NASA is officially back in the business of sending humans to deep space. In a post shared to X early this morning, the agency declared, “Next stop: The moon,” signaling the final countdown for the Artemis II mission.
This was echoed by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who noted that “The next era of exploration begins” as the agency prepares for its first crewed lunar flight in over half a century.
The mission is scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida today, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is set to ignite at 6:24 p.m. ET, marking the start of a two-hour launch window.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 currently project an 80% chance of favorable weather, though they remain on the lookout for potential interference from cumulus clouds, ground winds, or solar activity.
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Preparations at the pad have been underway since the early hours. Engineers recently finished health checks on the four RS-25 engines at the base of the rocket and fully charged the flight batteries for both the core stage and the Orion spacecraft.
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In a critical safety milestone, technicians also completed regulator leak checks on the pressure suits that astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will wear during their journey.
This mission serves as a pivotal stepping stone for NASA’s long-term goals. While Artemis II will take the crew on a 10-day loop around the moon to test life-support systems, the broader objective of the program is to establish a permanent lunar base that will eventually support human missions to Mars.
As the countdown progresses, the launch site is being cleared of all non-essential personnel. The ground launch sequencer—an automated system responsible for thousands of rapid-fire commands—will take over in the final minutes to manage the terminal count.
To ensure a stable environment before fueling begins, teams have also initiated a nitrogen changeover to purge oxygen and moisture from the rocket’s internal cavities.
For those watching from home, NASA’s live broadcast of the fueling process—known as tanking operations—began at 7:45 a.m. EDT. Full launch coverage is set to go live at 12:50 p.m. EDT. The historic event will be streamed across multiple platforms, including NASA+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.
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