Overview
- NASA lists 16 launch opportunities, with the first possible date on February 6 and additional options on February 7–11, March 6–11, and April 1, 3–6, and 30.
- Engineers are connecting electrical and propellant systems at the pad and preparing for a full countdown dress rehearsal in early February.
- Artemis II will send four astronauts on a roughly 10‑day trip around the Moon without a landing, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
- The crew comprises Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, marking the first lunar flight to include a woman, a non‑white person, and a non‑American.
- Industry experts report the Artemis III lunar landing, currently planned for mid‑2027, is likely to slip because SpaceX’s lander is not yet ready, renewing concerns about U.S.–China competition.