Artemis

SpaceX attempts to transfer cryogenic propellant between two Starships in LEO, a critical path milestone for Artemis.

NASA launched the Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026 at 6:35 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, sending commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a ~10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon. The SLS core stage and Orion spacecraft performed nominally, with solar array deployment confirmed shortly after separation. On April 2, the crew completed a 5-minute, 55-second translunar injection burn that set Orion on course to reach a maximum distance of approximately 252,021 miles from Earth — surpassing the Apollo 13 record. The mission is a crewed test flight, not a lunar landing, and is intended to validate Orion life support, navigation, and deep-space systems ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA leadership has chosen to redirect resources away from the long-planned Lunar Gateway orbital station toward building a more ambitious, sustained human base on the lunar surface. The decision reflects a broader Artemis program shift toward surface infrastructure.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called for a monthly cadence of robotic lunar landers to the south pole starting next year, accelerating CLPS 2.0 and surface infrastructure.

After helium leak repairs and final close-outs, NASA began the ~4-mile rollout of the fully stacked SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Rollout started ~8 p.m. EDT March 19 (delayed slightly by winds) and is expected to complete within 12 hours. This positions the vehicle for the April 1 targeted crewed lunar flyby: the first humans around the Moon since Apollo 17.

Following repairs in the VAB, the Artemis II SLS/Orion stack rolled out again on March 19–20, 2026, completing the ~4-mile journey to LC-39B in ~10 hours. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 27 and entered quarantine. Launch is targeted for no earlier than 6:24 PM EDT on April 1, 2026 — the first human deep-space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Following repairs in the VAB, the Artemis II SLS/Orion stack rolled out again on March 19–20, 2026, completing the ~4-mile journey to LC-39B in ~10 hours. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 27 and entered quarantine. Launch is targeted for no earlier than 6:24 PM EDT on April 1, 2026 — the first human deep-space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

On February 27, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major restructuring of the Artemis program. Artemis III is redefined from a lunar landing to a 2027 Earth-orbit rendezvous and docking test with Starship HLS and Blue Moon. The first crewed lunar landing is now Artemis IV, targeting early 2028. Artemis V is a potential second landing the same year. The goal: accelerate SLS launch cadence and reduce mission risk per flight.

On February 27, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major restructuring of the Artemis program. Artemis III is redefined from a lunar landing to a 2027 Earth-orbit rendezvous and docking test with Starship HLS and Blue Moon. The first crewed lunar landing is now Artemis IV, targeting early 2028. Artemis V is a potential second landing the same year. The goal: accelerate SLS launch cadence and reduce mission risk per flight.

On February 21, 2026, engineers detected an anomaly with helium flow to the SLS upper stage. NASA managers initiated rollback to the VAB on February 25 to determine the cause and make repairs. The crew was released from quarantine. Launch target moved to April at the earliest. A second wet dress rehearsal on February 19 had been successful.

The Artemis II SLS/Orion stack rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center on January 18, 2026 — the first human-rated rocket at the pad since Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2011. A subsequent wet dress rehearsal on February 2 surfaced a liquid hydrogen leak. A helium flow issue detected February 21 forced a rollback to the VAB.

NASA cancelled the Lunar Gateway space station program in 2026, citing cost overruns, schedule delays, and the revised Artemis architecture that no longer requires a cislunar waypoint for the near-term missions. The PPE (Maxar) and HALO (Northrop Grumman) modules were in production at time of cancellation. International partners including ESA, JAXA, and CSA had contributed to the design.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander touched down at Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025 — the first fully successful commercial soft landing on the Moon. All 10 NASA CLPS science payloads powered on and collected data over a 14-day surface mission (346 hours), transmitting 120 GB back to Earth. The mission concluded March 16 when batteries depleted at lunar sunset.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the four-person crew of Artemis II on April 3, 2023: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and CSA Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. The selection marks historic firsts — first woman, first person of color, and first non-American assigned to a crewed lunar mission.

NASA's Space Launch System launched for the first time on November 16, 2022, carrying an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 26-day mission to distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. Orion splashed down December 11 in the Pacific. Heat shield showed unexpected but non-critical ablation patterns during reentry — triggering months of analysis before Artemis II crew clearance.