NASA announces detailed coverage for Artemis II, including prelaunch events and live streams, as the agency prepares for its first crewed lunar orbit mission.
NASA has scheduled comprehensive coverage for the Artemis II mission, marking the agency's first crewed flight around the Moon, with a launch targeted no earlier than April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will feature a 10-day journey for the crew, testing the Orion spacecraft's life support systems for future lunar explorations.
The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. This team will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched by NASA's Space Launch System rocket, to conduct an orbital path around the Moon.
Prelaunch and Launch Schedule
Key prelaunch events begin on March 27, with agency leaders greeting the astronauts at Kennedy Space Center, followed by a media Q&A. On March 29, the crew will answer questions virtually from quarantine, and NASA will hold a news conference to update on launch status.
Additional briefings are set for March 30 and 31, covering mission management and prelaunch preparations. Launch coverage starts on April 1 at 7:45 a.m. EDT with tanking operations, and full NASA+ broadcast begins at 12:50 p.m. EDT, including postlaunch updates.
Mission coverage will stream on NASA's YouTube channel, featuring 24/7 updates and live views from Orion as bandwidth allows. Daily status briefings from Johnson Space Center in Houston will start on April 2, with crew interactions scheduled throughout the flight.
To follow the mission, the public can register for virtual attendance on NASA's website, access real-time updates via the Artemis blog, and track Orion's position online. Media can listen to audio coverage via specified radio frequencies or dial-in options.
As part of NASA's Artemis program, this mission builds toward deeper Moon exploration and eventual Mars missions, with all events subject to change based on official updates.
