NASA's Artemis II L-1 Countdown Status News Conference (March 31, 2026)

NASA leaders are providing a status update on final preparations before the launch of Artemis II as soon as April 1. Participants include:

- Jeff Spaulding, test director with the Exploration Ground Systems program, NASA Kennedy - Mark Burger, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

NASA's Artemis II mission around the Moon is currently scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1. The two-hour launch window starts at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC).

After launching into space atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Artemis II astronauts will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, on an approximately 10-day mission.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

More about coverage of our Artemis II mission around the Moon: https://go.nasa.gov/4rWyZNY

Credit: NASA