Space & Astronomy

NASA makes final preparations for April 1st manned Moon mission

By T.K. Randall
March 30, 2026 ·  169 comments

Image: Artemis 2 Crew Portrait
Credit: Josh Valcarcel / (PD) NASA As the enormous silhouette of NASA's Space Launch System sits stark against the rising Sun, there is great excitement in the air and a sense that something extraordinary is about to happen.

At around 6.24pm ET on Wednesday, Artemis II is expected to launch on what will be the first manned mission to the Moon since the Apollo era ended over 50 years ago.

The astronauts going on the mission will be NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

While they won't be landing on the lunar surface, they will spend several days orbiting the Moon before returning to Earth - something nobody has done in almost three generations.Despite various technical setbacks and delays, it is looking like the April 1st launch date will hold up, with forecasts currently predicting an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions.

If all goes well, the mission will be followed within the next few years by Artemis III (an unmanned technical demonstration) and Artemis IV (the first actual manned lunar landing).

All eyes will be on Cape Canaveral on Wednesday as the astronauts get ready for their trip.

Here's hoping that everything goes to plan.


Source: The Guardian | Comments (169)

Tags: Artemis, Moon