'Something really big is going to happen': NASA's historic Artemis II mission approved for April 1 launch

NASA's Artemis II moon mission has cleared one of its biggest hurdles yet: After a full flight readiness review and other checks, teams gave the first crewed Artemis flight the green light to launch as soon as Wednesday (April 1).

"Something really big is going to happen," said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson at a March 30 news conference.

This is a major step for the Artemis II mission, which aims to send four astronauts to the lunar system and back for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA leaders sounded confident after the review. "We are getting very, very close, and we are ready," Lori Glaze, NASA's acting associate administrator for exploration systems development, said during a March 29 mission status update.

The weather is leaning in the mission's favor, with the latest forecast showing an 80% chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff Wednesday.

Artemis II is NASA's first chance to test the life-support equipment aboard the Orion crew capsule with astronauts on board, as well as its first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years. If all goes well, the roughly 10-day flight will help prove the agency's moon-to-Mars hardware is ready for even riskier missions ahead, including crewed lunar landings and a future lunar base.

A long road to the launchpad

The mission did not reach this point in a straight line. Artemis II has worked through technical snags, including earlier trouble with liquid hydrogen leaking and a helium-flow issue in the rocket's upper stage. These issues forced extra work in the Vehicle Assembly Building before the rocket was rolled back out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA said those issues were addressed as teams pushed through final integration, countdown rehearsals and launch prep.

Now, the focus is narrowing to launch day. NASA's latest update says cloud cover and possible strong ground winds are the main weather concerns for launch criteria, but the overall picture looks favorable. Teams at Kennedy Space Center began countdown activities Monday at 4:44 p.m. EDT, with the agency targeting a launch time no earlier than 6:24 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

This launch window runs through April 6, with April 30 being the last date for a backup attempt.

Artemis II will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return path around the moon, and it is expected to break several records. Although the mission won't land on the moon, it will help photograph the dark side of the moon like never before and pave the way for the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions as the U.S. eyes a more sustained human presence on its celestial satellite.

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