NASA is maintaining an April 1 launch date for the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight to the Moon in more than 50 years, stating that no technical issues are threatening the schedule. The only remaining uncertainty is the weather.

The U.S. space agency confirmed that the launch window opens on Wednesday, April 1, at 18:24 (local time) and lasts for two hours. Backup launch dates are available through April 6 in case of delays.

According to NASA, the mission has successfully passed its critical flight readiness review ahead of transferring the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the launch pad on March 20. No outstanding issues or technical risks have been identified.

Lori Glaze, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, expressed strong optimism, emphasizing that all systems are operating smoothly.

“All operational processes are proceeding very smoothly. The flight systems, ground systems, launch teams, and operations teams are ready. And the crew is more than ready,” she said.

She added that any minor technical issues that arise are addressed immediately and do not affect the launch timeline.

Despite the overall readiness, the main factor of uncertainty remains the weather, with a 20% chance that conditions—primarily low-level cloud cover—could exceed launch constraints.

The Mission and Its Objectives

Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustained presence there.

The mission will include NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.