NASA’s Artemis II set to launch Wednesday: What to know

Live coverage of the Artemis II launch will be carried in the video player above starting at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 1.

(NEXSTAR) – NASA is taking a giant leap on Wednesday with the long-awaited launch of its Artemis II mission. If all goes well, the U.S. will be one step closer to putting man back on the moon.

The Space Launch System will carry the Orion capsule and the Artemis II crew – Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover – into space for a lunar fly-around.

The Artemis II launch, scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was originally set for February. Hydrogen fuel leaks, followed by a clogged helium pressurization line, caused delays.

In early March, NASA gave its moon rocket the all-clear. It now has six days to launch. If the Space Launch System can’t launch in that time, they’ll have to stand down until the end of April or early May.

“It’s a test flight and it is not without risk, but our team and our hardware are ready,” NASA’s Lori Glaze told reporters at the time.

Early Wednesday, crews began loading the 700,000 gallons of hydrogen fuel into the Space Launch System rocket.

“It is time to fly,” Commander Reid Wiseman said on the eve of launch via X.

Here’s what to know about Wednesday’s planned launch.

Could weather delay Artemis II?

Weather has also been known to delay launches. NASA said Monday that the weather for the Artemis II launch was 80% favorable. On Tuesday, the 45th Weather Squadron said “showers and their associated clouds as well as continued breezy onshore winds” were the main concerns, Nexstar’s WFLA reported.

NASA said in a Wednesday update that weather remains 80% favorable with the main concerns being clouds, precipiation, and ground winds.

WFLA meteorologist Amanda Holly said clouds will be in the area, which could delay the launch. The Space Launch System can’t take off if the cloud layer is too close, too thick, or too cold, or if there is too much precipitation. Winds that are too strong can also pose a challenge.

Who is among the Artemis II crew?

Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, and Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover – all from the U.S. – will be in the Orion capsule for this mission.

Hansen will become the first non-U.S. citizen to launch to the moon. Koch and Glover are the first woman and first Black astronaut, respectively, destined for the moon.

The crew’s main mission is to ensure future Artemis missions go smoothly, WFLA previously reported.

“Our motto from day one has been ‘Help Artemis III,’ succeed,” Wiseman said earlier this week.

While Artemis II is NASA’s first mission to the moon in more than 50 years, Wiseman and his crew will not put boots on the moon.

Where is Artemis II going?

They’ll be carried into space in the Orion capsule atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. After launch, they’ll enter orbit and spend about 25 hours circling Earth. Then, the Orion capsule will hurl them toward the moon, about 244,000 miles away. It takes about three or four days to get from Earth’s orbit to the moon, according to NASA.

Orion will zip 5,000 miles on flight day six, going beyond the moon before flying around it. The Artemis II crew may behold never-before-seen regions of the lunar far side — with the moon appearing the size of a basketball at arm’s length during the closest part of the roughly six-hour flyby.

Then, once around the moon, they’ll travel back to Earth, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific on flight day 10. In total, the Artemis mission is expected to take nine days, one hour, and 46 minutes.

Why Artemis II isn’t landing on the moon – and who will

The Artemis II mission is only conducting a lunar fly-around, not a lunar landing.

NASA is using this mission to test Orion’s life-supporting equipment and the crew’s capabilities. That, combined with Orion lacking landing gear, is why Artemis II doesn’t include a moon landing.

Artemis is expected to culminate in a moon landing, but not until 2028. Next year, NASA plans to launch the Artemis III mission in which astronauts will practice docking Orion in Earth’s orbit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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