Artemis II moves towards launch countdown as crew arrives at Kennedy Space Center

Final preparations are underway for NASA’s Artemis II, with the expected launch date of April 1 drawing closer. The Moon mission is in its final phase of prep with the rocket at the pad, systems ready, and the crew arriving at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA will soon move into launch countdown, as current weather forecasts show an 80% chance of favorable weather with some concerns around cloud cover and high winds in the area. The agency has held multiple pre-launch briefings ahead of this historic upcoming launch.

From quarantine, the Artemis II crew of four—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—addressed reporters in a virtual briefing, following their arrival at KSC on Friday, March 27. With the launch now closer than ever, the astronauts described their emotions about what it feels like to be on the verge of flying around the Moon, as well as the technical challenges involved. "Things are certainly starting to feel real here at the Cape," said Koch, who's going to become the first woman to fly to the vicinity of the Moon. In the briefing, the crew also discussed the importance of testing Orion’s manual control and other pre-launch protocols like suit rehearsals and medical checks.

In a countdown status update on Sunday, NASA’s team of experts confirmed that all systems are ready. Dr. Lori Glaze, Acting Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, stated that operations have gone smoothly after completing the Flight Readiness Review a couple of weeks ago. She added that the Mission Management Team (MMT) will take over from later today (March 30) as primary decision-makers for launch readiness and that they’ll meet to review closure plans for the few remaining open items. Shawn Quinn, Program Manager, Exploration Ground Systems, called the launch countdown pre-test briefings one of the cleanest they had ever had. He confirmed that there was no "significant" open work and all non-conformances had been closed. After rollout, the teams completed several tasks, like extending the crew access arm, installing emergency egress systems, and extensible columns on the base of the mobile launcher, and retracted the engine service platform. Notably, the rollout was completed within a record 21 days since the stack was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, and now, the crew, rocket, spacecraft, and ground systems are all ready to go. 

The two-hour launch window for Artemis II opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1. The 10-day lunar flyby will be the first crewed mission beyond low-Earth orbit since 1972. It may take them farther than any Apollo mission has ever gone, setting a record for the most distance traveled from Earth. All eyes are on this critical test flight, as NASA will use it to push for further goals like lunar landings and setting up a permanent Moon base, as well as future crewed missions to Mars.

More on Starlust

Countdown to Artemis II: Here's what will happen in the final hours before this historic launch

Artemis II: All the ways you can keep track of the mission — before, during, and after launch