Artemis 2 moon mission latest news: The countdown to launch has begun

It’s official, the countdown to NASA’s Artemis 2 launch is officially underway.

The countdown clock for Artemis 2 began ticking down toward an April 1 liftoff today, March 30, at 4:44 p.m. EDT (2044 GMT) as NASA flight controllers begin final checks of flight and ground systems for launch. Liftoff remains set for April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT).

NASA will hold an Artemis 2 L-2 press conference on Monday at 5 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT). The briefing will follow a key mission meeting to assess the mission’s readiness for an April 1 launch attempt. NASA officials attending the press conference include Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, John Honeycutt, chair of NASA’s mission management team, Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson and Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson.

The briefing will begin about 15 minutes after NASA’s initial call to stations and the official start of the Artemis 2 countdown clock, scheduled to begin at 4:44 p.m. EDT (2144 GMT) this afternoon.

NASA’s Artemis II L-2 Countdown Status News Conference (March 30, 2026) – YouTube

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A powerful X1.4 solar flare erupted late on March 29, peaking at 11:19 p.m. EDT (0319 GMT on March 30) and triggering a strong (R3) radio blackout according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

NASA will keep a close eye on space weather conditions, as disruptions like this could affect Artemis 2 preparations. Space weather can also pose a risk to astronauts, so forecasters and NASA teams are working closely together to monitor solar activity.

NASA is now just two days away from the launch of its Artemis 2 moon mission on April 1 — a mission that’s set to push humans farther into space than ever before.

With the Artemis 2 astronauts at their launch site for NASA’s first crewed moon mission in over 50 years, we’re just days away from the historic liftoff. So you’ll want to know how and when to tune in for the flight.

Luckily, we have you covered with our detailed overview:
What time is NASA’s Artemis 2 mission to the moon?

Artemis 2 astronauts will arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today, March 27, ahead of their mission to fly around the moon.

The crew have been in quarantine since March 20, when SLS was rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the pad at Launch Complex-39B (LC-39B), and will spend the days leading up to their mission continuing that quarantine at KSC.

It’s official, space fans, NASA is less than one week away from the launch of Artemis 2.

The first astronaut mission to the moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 in 1972 is on track for a launch on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Our Spaceflight Editor Mike Wall has our latest update on what you need to know in or 1 week away from Artemis 2 story.

NASA has begun rolling its Artemis 2 moon rocket back to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The Artemis 2 stack — a Space Launch System rocket topped with an Orion crew capsule — began moving toward the pad from KSC’s huge Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at 12:20 a.m. EDT (0420 GMT) on Friday (March 20). That was about 4.5 hours later than originally planned, a delay caused by high winds in the area.

The 4-mile (6.4 kilometers) trek from the VAB to Pad 39B is expected to take up to 12 hours. You can watch the whole journey here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA.

As of Thursday morning (March 19), NASA is still aiming for this evening to begin the rollout of SLS from the Vehicle Assembly Building, back to the launch pad.

Following the completion of some last minute work ahead of its departure, engineers are targeting 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT, March 20) for first motion of the SLS and mobile launch platform crawler-transporter 2 vehicle.

The four Artemis 2 astronauts entered quarantine at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Wednesday (March 18) at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT; 5 p.m. local time). The quartet “will limit their exposure to others for the next week in Houston, before flying to Kennedy approximately five days before launch, to continue their quarantine from the astronaut crew quarters there,” NASA officials said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

“Kennedy” is Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, Artemis 2’s launch site. If all goes to plan, the mission will launch on April 1 from KSC’s Pad 39B, kicking off a 10-day mission around the moon.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket tasked with launching the Artemis 2 mission is ready for transportation from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, back to Launch Complex-39B.

The Artemis 2 launch director issued the “go” order for SLS to begin its journey from Launch Complex-39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this morning (Feb. 25) at 9:38 a.m. EST (1438 GMT), with first motion confirmed about 10 minutes later, according to a NASA blog post Wednesday morning.

The Artemis 2 Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, standing at Launch Complex-39B since its arrival Jan. 17, is about to begin the slow journey back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for repairs.

NASA had targeted a launch window beginning March 6 for the earliest opportunity to launch SLS with its Orion spacecraft carrying the astronauts of Artemis 2 on a 10-day mission around the moon, but a helium issue that arose after the rocket’s most recent fueling test has prompted a rollback to the VAB and a push of the mission’s launch window to April.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center continue work at Launch Complex-39B to prepare the Artemis 2 Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and mobile launch platform (MLP) to roll the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repair, with first motion expected tomorrow morning (Feb. 25) at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT).

In the meantime, the Artemis 2 crew, assuredly not launching during their mission’s March window, are released from their pre-launch quarantine and free to move about the world as their astronaut schedules permit. Tonight, that schedule will be taking them to the U.S. Capitol for President Trump’s State of the Union address, according to an Axios report.

NASA has set a target time for the rollback of its Artemis 2 moon rocket — 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) on Wednesday (Feb. 25).

At around that time, Artemis 2’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule will begin the 4-mile (6.4 kilometers) trek from Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The duo will make the journey, which could take up to 12 hours, atop NASA’s massive Crawler Transporter-2 vehicle.

NASA plans to roll its Artemis 2 moon rocket off Kennedy Space Center‘s (KSC) Launch Pad 39B on Wednesday (Feb. 25). The agency had been eyeing Tuesday (Feb. 24) for the operation, but Mother Nature didn’t cooperate.

“Cold temperatures and high winds are expected Tuesday, and rolling on Feb. 25 gives teams enough time to complete preparations at the launch pad that were limited today by high winds in the area,” NASA officials wrote in an update on Monday evening (Feb. 23).

NASA is now preparing to return its towering Artemis 2 moon rocket back to its hangar after more than a month at the launch pad due to a helium system issue on the rocket’s upper stage.

The decision, which came yesterday (Feb. 22), means the Artemis 2 mission’s launch of four astronauts to the moon will be delayed at least a month until April 1 at the earliest. It was previously set for March 6. You can read about the delay in detail in our full story by Space.com editor Mike Wall below:

After more than 11 hours, NASA’s might Artemis 2 moon rocket has arrived at it new launch pad home for the first time.

The Space Launch System rocket that will launch NASA’s Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon arrived at its pad at Launch Complex 36B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT), more than 11 1/2 hours after leaving its Vehicle Assembly Building hangar.

NASA has now passed the five-hour mark of today’s Artemis 2 moon rocket roll out to the launch pad. We should be just over halfway to the pad, or slightly more than halfway, depending on if NASA’s progress is following its eight-hour schedule or 10-hour plan. Here’s a wrap on how things havce gone so far:

NASA rolls Artemis 2 rocket to the pad ahead of historic moon launch

NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket, the second-ever Space Launch System booster, is slowly making progress along the 4-mile journey to its Florida pad at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It’s a slow roll for the Artemis 2 SLS. NASA’s giant Crawler Transporter 2 carrier vehicle is carrying the 11 million pound stack at about 1 mile an hour. That’s it’s top speed. The massive carrier vehicle was originally built to move NASA’s Saturn V rockets in the Apollo era, and later moved space shuttles to the pad as well.

As we near the 2-hour mark of NASA’s up to 10-hour move of the Artemis 2 rocket to its Florida launch pad, the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System is fully visible and has exited its massive Vehicle Assembly Building hangar.

Above is an amazing image from Space.com’s Josh Dinner at the Kennedy Space Center as he’s monitoring the rollout to Pad 39B.

NASA reports that the towering Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket is officially on the move.

First motion for today’s rollout occurred at 7:04 a.m. EST (1204 GMT) as the huge rocket began its daylong trip to the launch pad. It is about 4 miles to Pad 39B from NASA’s 52-stroy Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where the SLS for Artemis 2 was stacked and assembled.

With NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket is ready to roll out to the launch pad, you may be wondering if you’ll be able to watch it live online on Saturday, Jan. 17. Well, yes. Yes, you can.

NASA’s livestream of the Artemis 2 roll out will begin at 7 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) and will be available in the window at the top of this page. You can also watch it directly from NASA via YouTube.

NASA’s Artemis 2 moon rocket rollout preview press conference has ended.

You can see a replay in the window below.

NASA’s Artemis II Rollout and Mission Overview News Conference (Jan. 16, 2026) – YouTube

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NASA officials say the Artemis 2 moon rocket is ready to head out to its Florida launch pad early tomorrow, but it will be a slow trip.

The Artemis 2 Space Launch System will take between 8 to 10 hours to make the 4-mile trip from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. Once the the rocket makes it to the pad, NASA will then connect it to pad infrastructure for fueling atop its Mobile Launch Platform.

NASA’s press conference on the Artemis 2 moon rocket has begun. You can watch it live on this page, as well as on NASA’s YouTube here.

Speaking during the event are:

• John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair
• Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems
• Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
• Lili Villarreal, landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems
• Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate

NASA’s Artemis II Rollout and Mission Overview News Conference (Jan. 16, 2026) – YouTube

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Hello, Space Fans! NASA is one day away from its historic rollout of the Artemis 2 rocket that will carry four astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

The Artemis 2 rocket, NASA’s second Space Launch System booster, is currently scheduled to head out to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). It should take several hours for the towering 322-foot rocket to reach the launch pad.