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Artemis II Targets Early February Launch as India Plans March Gaganyaan Test

Each mission serves as a systems‑proving flight that underpins future lunar landings and India’s independent crew access.

After NASA’s Orion spacecraft was recovered at the conclusion of the Artemis I test flight, its heat shield showed unexpected wear with some of the ablative coating showing signs of mechanical separation.
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NASA technicians use a crane to lift and secure the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in October.
Technicians with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Program complete installation of the America 250 emblem on the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for the Artemis II mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Frank Michaux/NASA)

Overview

  • NASA says Artemis II could launch in early February, sending Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a roughly 10-day lunar flyby.
  • The flight will validate Orion’s life support, navigation, communications and high-speed re-entry after heightened scrutiny of the capsule’s heat shield from Artemis I.
  • ISRO is targeting March for its uncrewed Gaganyaan G1 orbital test on a human-rated LVM3, with the Vyommitra humanoid aboard to evaluate crew systems and sea recovery.
  • G1 is planned to operate around 300–400 kilometers altitude to exercise life-support functions, communications links, parachute deployment and mission control procedures ahead of a later crewed mission.
  • A broader 2026 ramp-up features continued flight tests of reusable heavy rockets such as Starship and New Glenn, which analysts say are driving down launch costs and raising launch cadence.