Overview
- NASA has positioned the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B for pad testing, with a wet dress rehearsal planned in the coming days, according to the agency’s mission updates.
- Artemis II is slated to launch between February and April 2026, and NASA clarifies that February 6 is the first opportunity in the window rather than a confirmed date.
- The approximately 10-day mission includes initial Earth orbits and systems checkouts, a translunar injection for a far-side flyby reaching about 7,400 kilometers beyond the Moon, and a Pacific splashdown near San Diego.
- The crew—commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—will test Orion’s life-support, manual handling, and deep-space communications and navigation.
- The Send Your Name with Artemis campaign issues virtual boarding passes and will fly registered names on digital media inside Orion, and the flight will also carry Argentina’s Atenea CubeSat to study radiation, advanced sensors, and long-range communications.